PRIME MINISTER

Members: Correspondence

Graham Stringer: To ask the Prime Minister when he expects to reply to the letter of 3 February 2012 from the hon. Member for Blackley and Broughton.

David Cameron: A reply has been sent.

Political Parties: Finance

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Prime Minister how many Conservative party donors form Liverpool he has met in an official capacity at 10 Downing street since May 2010.

David Cameron: Details of hospitality I have received and my meetings with external organisations are published on a quarterly basis. Details can be accessed on the Cabinet Office website at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/content/ministers-transparency-publications

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Advertising

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effects of advertising on the wellbeing of adults;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the effects of advertising on the wellbeing of children.

Edward Vaizey: No recent assessment has been made of the effect of advertising on the wellbeing of adults or children.
	However, the independent regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), is responsible for ensuring that the Advertising Codes are adhered to by advertisers in all media. These codes contain wide-ranging rules designed to ensure that advertising does not mislead, harm or offend. In particular, they take into account the need to protect children from harmful or inappropriate content. They state that advertisements must also be socially responsible and prepared in line with the principles of fair competition. The ASA conducts research to ensure that what is allowed in advertisements meets the expectations of the public with respect to taste and decency.
	¦In addition, the Government commissioned a report from Reg Bailey, chief executive of the Mother's Union, on the commercialisation and sexualisation of children which was published last year. The review made recommendations on advertising which we have accepted. We are monitoring the regulator's and industry's delivery of these recommendations and we expect to take stock of the progress so far later this year at which point we will consider whether further action is necessary.

Broadband

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the effect of reaching his target of universal broadband coverage by 2015 on the availability of video relay services for British Sign Language users in rural areas.

Edward Vaizey: One of the key factors that will help to increase access to video relay service is broadband with sufficient bandwidth to handle video streaming. The Government's aim is to have the best superfast broadband network in Europe by 2015, with 90% of premises having access to superfast broadband and universal access to at least 2Mbps. Whilst no assessment has been made of the number of British Sign Language (BSL) users in rural areas, achieving the above aim will be a significant step forward in helping BSL users gain access to video relay services.
	In this respect I also welcome and support Ofcom's proposed consultation on options for improving the availability of video relay services.

Broadband

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of British Sign Language users who are unable to access video relay services due to a lack of high-speed broadband;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all British Sign Language users have access to broadband of sufficient speed to use video relay services.

Edward Vaizey: A minimum bandwidth of approximately 2 Mbps is needed for an effective video relay service (VRS) and according to Ofcom's Communications Infrastructure Report 2011, which was published last summer, the percentage of homes across the UK then receiving download speeds of less than 2 Mbps was 14%. No assessment has been made of what proportion of these homes include British Sign Language (BSL) users. However, I continue to press business, tele- communications companies and third sector organisations to improve access to VRS for BSL users.

Broadband Delivery UK

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to his answer of 6 December 2011, Official Report, column 187W, on Broadband Delivery UK: manpower, whether he has determined the staff resource for each year from 2011-12 to 2014-15.

Edward Vaizey: Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) had a total of 10.7 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff during 2011-12. The current projections for staff numbers for the years to 2014-15 are:
	
		
			  Number of FTE staff 
			 2012-13 25 
			 2013-14 24 
			 2014-15 23

Legal Costs

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on fees for legal work in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

John Penrose: The following table sets out the Department's expenditure on fees for legal work in financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12, as recorded on the Department's accounting system. Figures include solicitor and counsel fees, plus any associated expenses. The total does not include legal work provided by our in-house Treasury Solicitors legal adviser's team.
	Expenditure relating to the sale of the Horserace Totalisator Board (Tote) is shown separately, as it accounts for a high proportion of costs incurred and was a one-off transaction.
	
		
			 £ 
			  2010-11 2011-12 Total 
			 External legal costs expenditure 1,276,995 873,339 2,150,334 
			 Of which the following related to the Tote sale 1,200,079 593,886 1,793,965

Museums and Galleries

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much funding from the public purse he has allocated to art galleries in each of the last five years.

Edward Vaizey: The Arts Council England is the arm's length body responsible for allocating funding for the arts in England. Over the last five years, it has allocated the following funding across its various funding strands to organisations which classify their principal art form as Visual Art. This information is set out in the following table.
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Visual Arts 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Regular Funded Organisations 38.129 40.296 42.227 43.125 40.15 
			 Grants for the Arts 15.241 13.953 17.008 13.709 15.483 
			 Managed Funds 5.075 5.772 5.749 11.383 4.511 
			 Other programmes 0.0 0.0 9.922 0.339 0.845 
			 Total investment 58.445 60.021 74.906 68.556 60.988

Official Secrets

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether any person employed by (a) his Department, (b) the agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible and (c) any private firms contracted by his Department is bound by any part of the Official Secrets Act.

John Penrose: The information is as follows:
	(a) Employees of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) are bound by the Official Secrets Act, in adherence with the Civil Service Management Code.
	(b) DCMS does not hold this information for its agency or arm’s length bodies (ALBs). Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of the Royal Parks and our ALBs to write directly to the hon. Member with this information.
	(c) DCMS includes a clause in its service contracts which state that the contractor shall comply with, and shall ensure that its staff comply with, the provisions of the Officials Secret Act. This forms part of the overall Protection of Information, which would also include the Data Protection Act.

Performing Arts

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the contribution to the UK economy made by (a) classical music and (b) ballet.

Edward Vaizey: The Department does not hold specific data relating to classical music and ballet. However, in 2009, music and visual performing arts contributed £4.1 billion to the Cross Value Added in Britain.
	From data collected by Arts Council England through the annual submission of regularly funded organisations:
	(a) In 2010-11 the 23 organisations that wholly or partially classified their artform as classical music or orchestral had an earned income of £33.7 million (which excludes Arts Council investment).
	The 23 organisations employed 3765 staff in 2010/11 and 1719 volunteers.
	(b) In 2010-11 the seven organisations that wholly or partially classified their artform as ballet had an earned income of £35.8 million (which excludes Arts Council investment).
	The seven organisations employed 4554 staff in 2010-11 and 58 volunteers.

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport which of his Department's consultations have been externally verified since 2007; for what reason and by whom such verification was carried out; and what the cost to the public purse was of such verification.

John Penrose: Formal verification of compliance with the various obligations set out under the HM Government Code of Practice on Consultation is a matter that is normally handled internally, in accordance with the obligation under the Code to monitor the effectiveness of consultation exercises. Some of our consultations may also have been externally verified, but we do not record this centrally and to provide this information would incur disproportionate cost.
	It is normal practice for the Department to publish all non-confidential responses to formal written consultation exercises, consistent with the Code. Publication of consultation responses promotes transparency and provides the opportunity for external scrutiny of the consultation process independent of Government. Details of consultations before 2010 can be found on the UK Government web archive at:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100407120701/http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/consultations/default.aspx
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100407120701/http:/www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/consultations/default.aspx
	and from 2010 at:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/consultations/default.aspx

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether his Department accepts anonymous contributions to its consultations.

John Penrose: Yes, the Department does accept anonymous contributions to its consultations.
	In accordance with the HM Government Code of Practice on Consultation all responses are analysed carefully, using the expertise, experiences and views of respondents to develop a more effective and efficient policy. The Department processes all personal data in accordance with the Data Protection Act.

Retirement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many staff of his Department retired in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; how many such staff were taking early retirement in each such year; and if he will make a statement.

John Penrose: The number of staff who retired in the periods requested can be found in the following table.
	
		
			 Financial year Number of staff who retired Number of such staff who took early retirement 
			 2010-2011 23 17 
			 2011-2012 20 18 
			 Total 43 35

Swimming Pools

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many installations of swimming pools have received change of use consent from English Heritage in each of the last 10 years.

John Penrose: English Heritage does not issue change of use consent.

Television

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his Department has spent on developing and promoting advice to parents on the appropriate use of television by their children in each of the last five years.

Edward Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not directly funded the development or promotion of advice to parents about the use of television by children in the last five years. However, in that time the Government have continued to provide grant-in-aid to Ofcom in support of its media literacy activities, which have included projects and research to help promote adults' and children's understanding and use of electronic media. The grant-in-aid provided to Ofcom has been as follows:
	
		
			  Grant in aid support (£) 
			 2007-08 559,000 
			 2008-09 559,000 
			 2009-10 559,000 
			 2010-11 541,000 
			 2011-12 305,000

Theatre

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much funding from the public purse he has allocated to London theatres in each of the last five years.

Edward Vaizey: The Arts Council England is the arm's length body responsible for funding the arts in England. Over the last five years, it has allocated the following funding across its various funding strands to organisations in London which classify their principle art form as Theatre. This information is set out in the following table.
	
		
			 £ million 
			 London Theatre funding 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Regular Funded Organisations 43.46 44.522 45.833 46.935 43.696 
			 Grants for the Arts 3.094 2.694 3.55 3.019 4.732 
			 Managed Funds 1.673 0.704 2.194 0.933 1.919 
			 Other programmes 0.0 0.0 4.552 0.0 0.242 
			 Total investment 48.227 47.92 56.129 50.886 50.589

Vacancies

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many job vacancies there were for (a) staff posts and (b) senior civil service posts in his Department on 31 March (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012; and if he will make a statement.

John Penrose: The number of live job vacancies in the Department on the dates requested can be found in the following table.
	
		
			  Live on 31 March 2010 Live on 31 March 2011 Live on 31 March 2012 
			 SCS posts 0 0 0 
			 Civil service posts (below SCS) 0 3 1 
		
	
	Vacancies were resourced across the civil service, not externally.

Video Games

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the proportion of video games sold to children which have violence as a theme.

Edward Vaizey: No estimates have been made.
	We have in place a regulatory system to prevent the sale of such products to children. Under the Video Recordings Act, any video games featuring gross violence are given a “15” or “18” age rating by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). It is then an offence to sell or rent games carrying these BBFC ratings to anyone not old enough.
	We are further strengthening the statutory regime. Under changes currently being implemented, we are making the Pan European Game Information (PEGI) system the sole method of classifying all video games in the UK and the statutory backing will be extended so that it will be an offence to supply games rated “12”, as well as those with the high ratings to anyone not meeting the specific age requirements.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Bribery Act 2010

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions the Serious Fraud Office has brought since the Bribery Act 2011 came into force; and how many convictions have been made as a result.

Edward Garnier: The Bribery Act 2010 came into force on 1 July 2011. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigates the most serious and complex cases of economic crime and investigations can take many months or years to conclude. The SFO has not yet prosecuted an individual or company under the Bribery Act.

Financial Services and Markets Act 2000

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions the Serious Fraud Office has instigated in the last 18 months using sections 397 to 400 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000; how many convictions have followed from such prosecutions; and what assessment he has made of the change in number of such actions from the previous 18 months.

Edward Garnier: The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has instigated three prosecutions using sections 397-400 of the Financial Services and Markets Act (2000) since 1 October 2010. These cases are ongoing. The SFO instigated two prosecutions using these provisions in the 18 months prior. Both of those cases resulted in convictions.
	In addition, although the prosecution was not instigated using these provisions, one plea to section 397 of the Act was accepted in the last 18 months.
	No formal assessment has been made of this change in number.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Emergency Services: Business

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the cost to business of differing attendance policies operated by the English fire and rescue services in response to automatic fire alarm signals from commercial properties.

Bob Neill: The Government have made no estimate of the cost to business of differing attendance policies. Subsequent to local consultation it is for each fire and rescue authority in England to consider whether and how they wish to recover the cost of mobilising to persistent false alarms. False alarms (and the resulting evacuation and business continuity losses) cost businesses, as well as-fire and rescue authorities, money. It is therefore in their interests to ensure that their systems are appropriate and well maintained to minimise the disruption and losses caused by persistent false alarms.

First Time Buyers: Government Assistance

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what support he is providing to assist first-time buyers who purchase homes that are not new-builds.

Grant Shapps: The Government are committed to helping first-time buyers to purchase their own homes. The Government's approach to reducing the UK's burden of debt and abolishing the deficit will help to keep interest rates low and improve credit availability for all first time buyers. The Government also welcome the FSA's review of the mortgage market, the Mortgage Market Review. We are encouraging partners to work with the FSA to ensure that it strikes the right balance between protection for consumers and consumer choice.
	I also recently announced a substantial increase to the right to buy discount which will help more people get on to the housing ladder.
	In addition, in 2011 I brought industry experts together for two first time buyer summits to stimulate fresh thinking. As a result NewBuy, a new build mortgage indemnity scheme open to all buyers was launched in March. The scheme will increase housing supply in England which will help the broader economy, making homes more accessible for all.

Local Government: Pensions

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of the eligible workforce for each local authority in England is enrolled in the Local Authority Pension Scheme.

Bob Neill: This information is not collected centrally. Data about fund membership may be obtained only from the relevant Local Government Pension Scheme administering authority.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department has any plans to bring forward proposals to introduce Government-backed 100 per cent mortgages to certain home buyers.

Grant Shapps: The Government are supporting the industry led NewBuy scheme with a guarantee which will enable buyers to access 95% loan to value mortgages for new build properties.
	The Government have no plans to introduce Government-backed 100% mortgages.

Planning Permission: Recreation Spaces

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  whether the local green space designation measure has been implemented by his Department; and whether local planning authorities are now able to plan its incorporation into local plans and joint core strategies;
	(2)  if he will assess whether the local green space designation of 100 hectares in close proximity to an urban area would be considered appropriate in a local plan or joint core strategy subject to proper consultation and examination.

Bob Neill: The National Planning Policy Framework published in March includes a new designation that can be used by local communities to identify for special protection green areas of particular importance to them. These local green spaces can be designated when plans are prepared or reviewed, including when plans are produced jointly.
	The circumstances for using the new designation are set out in the framework, including that the designated area should be in reasonably close proximity to the community served and not an extensive tract of land. These assessments are for plan makers to undertake on a case by case basis, reflecting local circumstances and consistent with the local planning of sustainable development.

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which of his Department's consultations have been externally verified since 2007; for what reason and by whom such verification was carried out; and what the cost to the public purse was of such verification.

Bob Neill: The Department for Communities and Local Government has not had any consultations externally verified since 2007. Formal verification of compliance with the various obligations set out under the HM Government code of practice on consultation is a matter that is normally handled internally, in accordance with the obligation under the code to monitor the effectiveness of consultation exercises.

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department accepts anonymous contributions to its consultations.

Bob Neill: The Department for Communities and Local Government accepts anonymous and confidential contributions to its consultations. These contributions will not be published unless Freedom of Information obligations determine that they should be. The Department considers who has responded to a consultation, including anonymous contributions, when analysing responses in line with the Consultation Code of Practice.

Public Consultation: Internet

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department collects the IP addresses of online respondents to its consultations.

Bob Neill: The Department for Communities and Local Government does not collect the IP addresses of online respondents to its consultations.

Rented Housing: Repairs and Maintenance

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has had any recent discussions on steps to ensure that landlords letting private properties are made more responsible for maintaining their property in a decent state of repair.

Grant Shapps: I recently met a number of local authorities and interested parties to discuss how we can most effectively work together to tackle the small minority of rogue and criminal landlords. We will be issuing further advice to local authorities shortly.

Urban Areas

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to revise boundaries for primary urban areas.

Bob Neill: The 56 English primary urban areas, first used in 2006, have a minimum population threshold of 125,000 and define major cities by their physical extent rather than administrative boundaries. More recently the Government invited Local Enterprise Partnerships to form around geographies that represent reasonable natural economic geography, supported by business, which are sufficiently strategic. These geographies therefore reflect what businesses and local authorities see as the economic linkages within an area. The Local Economic Partnership geographies are used within Government rather than primary urban areas and the Department has no plans to revise the primary urban areas boundaries.

Urban Areas: Wales

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made on the proposal to extend the Portas pilot scheme to Wales.

Grant Shapps: High street regeneration is a devolved matter so it is for the Welsh Assembly Government to decide whether they wish to run a programme similar to the Portas pilot scheme in Wales. We are happy to assist the Welsh Assembly Government with information and lessons from initiatives being implemented in England.

NORTHERN IRELAND

National Crime Agency

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department about the establishment of the National Crime Agency.

Owen Paterson: I am in regular discussion with the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), about the National Crime Agency and the implications for Northern Ireland.
	My officials are working closely with their counterparts in the Home Office on the current proposals in relation to the National Crime Agency.

Official Secrets

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether any person employed by (a) his Department, (b) the agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible and (c) any private firms contracted by his Department is bound by any part of the Official Secrets Act.

Owen Paterson: All Crown Servants and Government contractors (as defined by Sections 12(1) and 12(2) of the Official Secrets Act 1989) are subject to the requirements of the Official Secrets Act. Upon entering the department, all staff are made aware that they are bound by the terms of the Official Secrets Act and that their actions resulting in unauthorised disclosure of official information may result in legal proceedings being taken against them.

Serious Organised Crime Agency

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what dates he has met the Secretary of State for the Home Department to discuss the strategic priorities of the Serious Organised Crime Agency in Northern Ireland.

Owen Paterson: The Serious Organised Crime Agency's (SOCA) strategic priorities for the UK are set by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), in consultation with Ministers from the devolved Administrations. They require SOCA to take into account differences in crime priorities in those jurisdictions, where appropriate.
	Ministers do not set separate strategic priorities for SOCA in Northern Ireland or any of the devolved Administrations.

SCOTLAND

Official Secrets

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether any person employed by (a) his Department and (b) any private firms contracted by his Department is bound by any part of the Official Secrets Act.

David Mundell: All Crown servants and government contractors (as defined by sections 12(1) and 12(2) of the Official Secrets Act 1989) are subject to the requirements of the Official Secrets Act. Upon entering the Department, all staff are made aware that they are bound by the terms of the Official Secrets Act and that their actions resulting in unauthorised disclosure of official information may result in legal proceedings being taken against them.

TRANSPORT

Liquefied Petroleum Gas

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the case for supporting liquid petroleum gas as an alternative to traditional road fuels.

Norman Baker: There are some environmental benefits of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vehicles. On a life cycle basis, LPG vehicles produce around 14% less carbon dioxide than petrol. However this is not as good as diesel cars which, for comparable size cars, emit around 20% less carbon dioxide than petrol cars. LPG cars deliver similar air quality emissions performance as petrol cars and better than diesel, although the gap has narrowed substantially with the introduction of Euro 5 and 6 diesel cars.
	Cars that have been constructed or modified to run on gas benefit from a £10 reduction in taxation levels for Alternative Fuel Cars under Vehicle Excise Duty. Owners of LPG cars also benefit from paying lower fuel duty on LPG than would be paid on petrol and diesel. LPG road fuel has a duty reduction worth the equivalent of 35.79p per litre compared with petrol.

Meetings

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the policy of her Department is on the entering of meetings held by Ministers in a private capacity in which departmental matters are discussed with interested parties in the register of gifts, hospitality and meetings held by the Department.

Norman Baker: The Department publishes quarterly information about ministerial meetings with external organisations. The published lists include a footnote explaining the scope of the publication.

Railways: East of England

Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what portion of the revenue from each ticket bought by customers of the Greater Anglian franchise is projected to be used for cross subsidies in each year for which figures are available.

Norman Baker: holding answer 23 April 2012
	The Department for Transport does not hold this information. This is a commercial matter for Greater Anglia.

Railways: Electrification

Nigel Mills: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Cambridge of 6 March 2012, Official Report, column 635W, on electrification, how many miles of track were electrified in (a) Wales, (b) the North East, (c) the North West, (d) Yorkshire and the Humber, (e) the West Midlands, (f) the East Midlands, (g) the East of England, (h) the South West, (i) the South East and (j) London between 1997 and May 2010.

Theresa Villiers: Nine route miles between Stoke-on-Trent (West Midlands) and Crewe (North West) had electrification commissioned between May 1997 and May 2010.
	Please note that the earlier answer of 6 March 2012, Official Report, column 635W, to the hon. Member for Cambridge (Dr Huppert), had included in error the electrification of Leeds and Bradford to Skipton and Ilkley which was electrified before May 1997 but did not receive its new trains and full service until after May 1997. I have issued a written ministerial statement to correct the previous information.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Green Deal Scheme

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to his Department's press notice entitled Green Deal Cash Boost, published on 8 March 2012, how much of the £3.5 million fund allocated to help train green deal assessors and installers has been (a) allocated to individual projects and (b) spent.

Gregory Barker: I can confirm that £1 million has been transferred to Asset Skills for training up to 1,000 assessors, and £2 million to Construction Skills to train up to 1,000 installers (to which they are adding an additional £500,000). Both are currently in the process of allocating the funds and they hope to begin training in May/June. We expect all the funding to be spent by the end of this calendar year.

Members: Correspondence

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects the Minister of State in his Department, the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle, to reply to the letter of 24 February 2012 from the hon. Member for Blackley and Broughton.

Gregory Barker: The Minister of State for Energy, my hon. Friend the Member for Wealden (Charles Hendry), replied to the hon. Member on 17 April 2012, as this matter falls into his portfolio.
	He apologised for the delay in doing so, which was due to time spent on the necessary cross-departmental liaison required for an accurate response.

Nuclear Power Stations

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with the European Commission on subsidies for new nuclear power stations; and what information he has on any representations on this issue from (a) the Czech Republic, (b) France and (c) Poland.

Charles Hendry: In a written ministerial statement made on 18 October 2010, Official  Repor t¸ columns 42-6WS(1), the then Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), set out that there will be no subsidy for new nuclear. It set out that this means there will be no levy, direct payment or market support for electricity supplied or capacity provided by a private sector new nuclear operator, unless similar support is also made available more widely to other types of generation. That statement also set out that new nuclear power will benefit from any general measures that are in place or may be introduced as part of wider reform of the electricity market to encourage investment in low-carbon generation. We are considering how the electricity market reforms interact with State Aid rules, and are engaging closely with the European Commission to ensure the policy is consistent with the appropriate rules.
	The Department holds discussions with European partners on a range of energy policy issues including nuclear, but we do not hold representations from the Czech Republic, France or Poland on plans for subsidies for new nuclear power stations.
	(1) https://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/meeting_energy/nuclear/ new/new.aspx

Renewable Energy: Heating

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will make an early announcement on his plans for bioliquids in the renewable heat incentive.

Gregory Barker: The Government will consult in September 2012 on whether to include bioliquids in the non-domestic RHI and on how we can support renewable heating for households in the longer term.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Marriage

Matthew Offord: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what assessment she has made of the implications of Gas and Dubois v France (2012) (application no. 25951/07) at the European Court of Human Rights on the introduction of same-sex marriage.

Lynne Featherstone: In a recent ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (Gas and Dubois v. France), the Court reiterated its earlier ruling in Schalk and Kopf v. Austria that member states are under no obligation to allow same-sex couples access to marriage. The Gas and Dubois decision was incorrectly reported in the media as stating that churches will be forced to marry same-sex couples.
	The Government will continue to consider any relevant court judgments as they arise in relation to UK Government policy.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the new alcohol strategy, what evidence she has received that a ban on multi-buy alcohol promotions will reduce harmful drinking in England and Wales.

James Brokenshire: The Government published their alcohol strategy on 23 March 2012 which included a commitment to consult on a ban on multi-buy promotions in shops. The Government will consider evidence on the impact of such a ban as part of the forthcoming consultation. Further information on the timing of this consultation will be set out shortly.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the consultation on a ban on multi-buy promotions of alcohol will be published.

James Brokenshire: The Government published their alcohol strategy on 23 March 2012 which included a commitment to consult on a ban on multi-buy promotions in shops. Further information on the timing of this consultation will be set out shortly.

Alcoholic Drinks: Prices

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects the consultation on a minimum unit price for alcohol to be published.

James Brokenshire: The Government published their alcohol strategy on 23 March 2012 which included a commitment to introduce a minimum unit price for alcohol to ensure that alcohol is sold at a sensible and appropriate price. Further information on the timing of this consultation will be set out shortly.

Licensed Premises: Security

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department provides guidance and training to nightclub security staff on identifying and seizing identification documents; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has previously published written guidance on false identification documents aimed at door supervisors (including security staff working within pubs and nightclubs). This document is currently being updated to reflect revised legislation and will be available on the Home Office website in the coming months. The guidance will set out the powers available to those working within and around nightclubs and bars.

Sexual Offences

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department has taken to ensure authorities in the UK are made aware of the details of paedophiles returning to the UK after having been convicted abroad.

Lynne Featherstone: Under the terms of EU Council Decision 2005/876/JHA the United Kingdom Central Authority for the Exchange of Criminal Records receives criminal conviction notifications from the majority of EU countries. It also handles conviction notifications received, mostly through Interpol channels, from non-EU countries.
	For all countries an offender will be placed on the Violent and Sexual Offenders Register (VISOR) if the offence abroad is one that would have resulted in the offender being placed on VISOR had it occurred in the UK. If there is a known UK address the VISOR record will be managed by the police force in which the person lives, if not it will be managed by the ACPO Criminal Records Office.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to her answers of 12 March 2012, when she plans to answer written questions (a) 99352, (b) 99353 and (c) 99354, all tabled on 7 March 2012 for answer on 12 March 2012; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 19 April 2012
	I refer the hon. Member to my answer given on 24 April 2012, Official Report, column 777W.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Livestock

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the use of antibiotics on livestock farms.

James Paice: The UK Government recognises that veterinary medicines including antimicrobials are required to ensure the health of food-producing animals in the UK, but believes that their use should not replace good farm management and animal husbandry systems.
	The Government takes the issue of antimicrobial resistance very seriously and has developed a comprehensive strategy to address it so that the effectiveness of antibiotics in both humans and animals can be maintained. A key element of this strategy is the collection and publication of information on the quantities of antimicrobial products, in particular antibiotics, sold each year for veterinary use in the UK.
	For the past 13 years, in response to recommendations made by the Advisory Committee on the microbiological safety of food (ACMSF), the Veterinary Medicines Directorate has collected, collated and published figures on UK sales volumes of active antimicrobial ingredients in products authorised for use in animals. It is reasonable to assume that there is a close correlation between the reported quantities of products sold and those used in the UK in the species indicated.
	From 2005, veterinary pharmaceutical companies have been required by the Veterinary Medicine Regulations 2005 to provide sales data on products for which they have marketing authorisations. The latest report is available at:
	http://www.vmd.defra.gov.uk/fsf/antimicrobial_pubs.aspx
	DEFRA has also funded a number of research and development projects/studies on the use of antibiotics in food producing animals in the UK which provide additional information on/assessment of use.
	In addition, Government works with the farming industry to promote the responsible use of antimicrobials in farmed animals. Accordingly, the DERA Antimicrobials Resistance Co-ordination (DARC) Group, the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture (RUMA) Alliance and the British Veterinary Association (BVA) all promote the responsible use of antimicrobials in veterinary medicine.

TREASURY

Child Benefit

Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the likely saving to the Exchequer of the withdrawal of child benefit for single earner families earning between £50,000 and £60,000;
	(2)  what the marginal tax rate will be for a co-habiting single earner with (a) one child, (b) two children, (c) three children and (d) four children and earning between £50,000 and £60,000 per annum.

David Gauke: An estimate of the saving to the Exchequer that accrue from withdrawal of child benefit only from single earning families who earn between £50,000 and £60,000 would be available only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Effective marginal tax rate (MTR) for an individual in paid employment facing the high income child benefit charge and with income between £50,000 and £60,000 a year (2013-14) (1) 
			  Effective MTR (1)  (percentage) 
			 One child 53 
			 Two children 60 
			 Three children 66 
			 Four children 73 
			 (1) Where, in addition to the child benefit charge, the individual facing the charge pays the higher rate of income tax at 40% and individual Class 1 national insurance contributions at 2% (the figures are rounded to the nearest percentage point).

Child Benefit

Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the estimated cost to HM Revenue and Customs is of administrating the system to withdraw child benefit from those earning between £50,000 and £60,000 per annum;
	(2)  how many additional families will be required to complete a tax return as a result of his decision to withdraw child benefit from those earning between £50,000 and £60,000 per annum.

David Gauke: The estimated administrative cost of recovering through the tax system child benefit paid to families with a person earning over £50,000 a year, along with the estimated number of additional people required to complete a tax return, can be found in the Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) which was published on HMRC's website:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk

Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families there are with one higher rate tax payer earning between £50,000 and £55,424.

David Gauke: There are an estimated 560,000 families with at least one higher rate taxpayer with total income between £50,000 and £55,424 in 2011 -12.
	Estimates are based on Family Resources Survey data for 2009-10, projected to 2011-12 using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility's November 2011 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

Infrastructure

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of progress in implementing the updated National Infrastructure Plan.

Danny Alexander: The Government continue to take an active role in ensuring the infrastructure identified in the National Infrastructure Plan 2011 is delivered efficiently and on time, with priority given to those projects most critical for economic growth.
	An update on this was published alongside the Budget, which sets out progress that has been made on the priority infrastructure investments identified in the National Infrastructure Plan 2011 and progress on other infrastructure measures since the autumn statement.

Revenue and Customs

Aidan Burley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the availability of the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) returns and forms website during the Easter period; for what reasons the HMRC website was upgraded during that period; and what assessment he has made of the effect of the decision to perform upgrades during that period on businesses seeking to use the website.

David Gauke: HMRC needs to make updates to its IT systems to ensure alignment to legislative changes that take effect at the end of one financial year and the start of another.
	HMRC deliberately plans updates at weekends as this is the time when its systems are used least by customers. This year upgrades were planned over the Easter bank holiday weekend as this coincided with the end of the financial year.
	The HMRC webpage was maintained throughout the upgrade period. The downtime of transaction online services, through which customers submit returns and forms,, was planned to be kept to a minimum taking into account the needs to specific customer groups. In particular, HMRC kept to a minimum the downtime experienced by the customers who use online services to facilitate the movement of goods in and out of the UK.
	The Department also aligned its downtime with the planned downtime of the Government Gateway, run by DWP, as many customers use this to access online services.
	The service was back eight hours ahead of schedule making this the shortest period of planned outage that customers have experienced. HMRC worked closely with selected customers whilst making the changes to ensure that when the service was brought back up it worked as expected.
	HMRC maintained the VAT returns service up to and including 7 April enabling customers to file their returns as usual. Some 24,000 customers benefited and filed their returns on the 6 and 7 April.

Social Security Benefits

Ann Coffey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse per household of the total increase in the tax threshold over the last three budgets for (a) couples with at least one child with gross earnings between £7,000 and £20,000 per annum and (b) single people with gross earnings between £30,000 and £40,000 per annum, taking into account the reduction in tax paid and the savings in housing benefit and council tax expenditure caused by the increased individuals' net income arising from the increase in the tax threshold;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the savings in housing benefit and council tax benefit that have accrued as a result of the measures to increase the tax threshold in each of the last three Budgets.

David Gauke: holding answer 27 March 2012
	The information is not available. The level of savings from housing benefit and council tax benefit resulting from increases to the personal allowance will depend on the level of benefit take-up among the group of households benefiting from these measures.
	The main Budget documents for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012, available on the HM Treasury website, contain the Government's assessment of the direct costs of these policy measures, as signed off by the OBR.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Dominic Raab: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was raised from stamp duty land tax paid by first-time buyers on property bought for £250,000 or less in each of the last five years.

Chloe Smith: Between 25 March 2010 and 24 March 2012, a stamp duty land tax (SDLT) relief could be claimed by first time buyers on residential property bought for between £125,000 and £250,000. The amount of SDLT raised from first time buyers on property bought for £250,000 or less during this period should therefore be zero.
	For earlier years, no receipts data are available. HMRC administrative systems did not identify whether a stamp duty land taxpayer was a first time buyer.

Tax Allowances

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much in current prices was claimed in tax relief on giving in each of the last 10 years; and how much he expects to be claimed in each of the next three years.

David Gauke: Data on amounts of tax relief for those cases where it is possible to make an accurate estimate of the amounts involved are published at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/charities/table10-2.pdf
	Forecasts for these figures are not available.

Taxation

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what information HM Revenue and Customs holds on the number of taxpayers with annual incomes of over (a) £150,000, (b) £500,000, (c) £1 million and (d) £2 million who pay an average tax rate on their income of less than (i) 10, (ii) 20, (iii) 30, (iv) 40 and (v) 50 per cent;
	(2)  what the average tax rate paid on income and gains combined by those with annual incomes of over (a) £150,000, (b) £500,000, (c) £1 million and (d) £2 million was in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(3)  what the average rate of capital gains tax paid by those with annual incomes of (a) £150,000 or more, (b) £500,000 or more, (c) £1 million or more and (d) £2 million or more was in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Gauke: holding answer 5 March 2012
	The information requested is as follows:
	(i) The proportion of taxpayers liable to income tax by their total income and average income tax rate are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Proportion (%) of individuals reporting various average tax rates by total income category (2010-11) 
			  Income 
			 Average tax rates £100,000 to £150,000 £150,000 to £250,000 £250,000 to £500,000 £500,000 to £1,000,000 £1,000,000 to £5,000,000 £5,000,000 to £10,000,000 Over £10,000,000 
			 Above 40% 0 6 73 81 80 81 72 
			 30% to 40% 67 77 18 11 10 8 12 
			 20% to 30% 24 13 5 4 5 4 8 
			 10% to 20% 8 3 2 2 2 3 3 
			 Under 10% 1 2 2 2 3 4 6 
		
	
	Figures are based on an analysis of self-assessment (SA) returns for the 2010-11 tax year, as available at Budget 2012. Income bands include those with average rates at the lower limit (e.g. a tax rate of exactly 30% falls in the “30% to <40%” category).
	(ii), (iii) Rates of capital gains tax range from 10% to 28% in 2011-12.

Taxation: Environment Protection

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what timetable his Department has agreed for the determination of the classification of environmental policies that could be described as levy mechanisms referred to the Classification Committee of the Office for National Statistics.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 24 April 2012
	The timetable for decisions by the National Accounts Classification Committee is a matter for the independent Office for National Statistics.

Taxation: Environment Protection

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what environmental policies that could be described as levy mechanisms his Department is currently considering for future referral to the Classification Committee of the Office for National Statistics.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 24 April 2012
	HM Treasury considers referral of policies to the ONS on a case by case basis.

Taxation: Environment Protection

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the environmental policies that could be described as levy mechanisms that his Department has referred to the Classification Committee of the Office for National Statistics.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 24 April 2012
	In November 2009 HM Treasury referred a selection of environmental policies to the ONS for classification, of these those that could be described as levy mechanisms were:
	Sustainable urban drainage systems;
	Carbon emission reduction targets;
	Community energy savings programme;
	Packaging recovery notes;
	Zero carbon buyout fund;
	Renewable transport fuel obligation; and
	Feed-in-tariffs.

VAT

Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of businesses in Wales that will be affected by planned changes to VAT on caravans.

David Gauke: Annex B—Tables of Impact for Individual Measures in HM Revenue and Customs consultation document "VAT: Addressing Borderline Anomalies", published at Budget 2012, sets out estimates for VAT which will be raised from holiday caravans and a summary of impacts upon which comments are invited.
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/vat-con-4801.pdf

VAT: Channel Islands

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the outcome of the recent case brought by the governments of the Channel Islands in relation to his decision to end low value consignment relief for goods imported from the Channel Islands.

David Gauke: The Judicial Review brought by the Governments of Guernsey and Jersey in respect of the decision to limit Low Value Consignment Relief was decided in the Government's favour on 15 March 2012. The Governments of Guernsey and Jersey subsequently announced that they do not intend to appeal against the judgement and the changes came into effect on 1 April. This outcome will ensure that UK businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, can compete on a level playing field with businesses which are based in the Channel Islands.

VAT: Channel Islands

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take to ensure that companies previously located in the Channel Islands for the purpose of exploiting low value consignment relief do not relocate to other jurisdictions for the purpose of avoiding the impact of his decision to end such relief for goods imported from the Channel Islands.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs will be monitoring the effect of the change to the Low Value Consignment Relief regime, taking particular interest in any relocation of businesses to other non-EU jurisdictions in order to retain the benefits of LVCR. Should HMRC identify evidence that such diversion is occurring, and that it has the potential to distort the market, the Government will consider removing the LVCR from mail order from those jurisdictions.

Working Tax Credit

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in Tooting constituency claiming working tax credit will be affected by the increase in the working hours requirement.

David Gauke: I refer the hon. Member to the parliamentary question answered on the 10 January 2012, Official Report, column 72W.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to answer written question (a) 97800, (b) 97801 and (c) 97755, tabled on 28 February 2012 for answer on 5 March 2012.

David Gauke: holding answer 16 April 2012
	I have done so today.

WALES

First Great Western

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions she has had with the First Minister of Wales on the First Great Western franchise.

David Jones: The Secretary of State for Wales, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs Gillan), meets with the First Minister on a regular basis, the latest meeting having taken place only last week. Their discussions include a range of transport issues affecting Wales.

Rail Transport

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions she has had with the First Minister of Wales on developing rail transport in Wales.

David Jones: The Secretary of State for Wales, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs Gillan), has regular discussions with the First Minister about a range of transport issues that affect Wales, and discussed the importance of rail infrastructure with him last week.

Official Secrets

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether any person employed by (a) her Department and (b) any private firms contracted by her Department is bound by any part of the Official Secrets Act.

David Jones: All civil servants and government contractors are bound by the Official Secrets Act.

CABINET OFFICE

Government Departments: Private Sector

Grahame Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 16 April 2012, Official Report, column 180W, on Government departments: private sector, if he will publish outsourcing deals by each Government department which are cleared by the Cabinet Office; and if he will indicate in detail how he intends to publish that information.

Francis Maude: The information requested is as follows:
	“Under EU procurement rules, public sector organisations must advertise contracts above certain thresholds (currently £113,057 for central Government goods and services) in the Official Journal of the European Union at:
	http://www.ojeu.eu/
	In addition, in order to increase transparency and open up procurement to SMEs, central Government Departments and their arm’s length bodies are required to advertise all procurements over £10,000 and publish tender documents and contracts for procurements over £10,000 on Contracts Finder:
	http://www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/ ”

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments: Waiting Lists

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent reports he has received on waiting times at accident and emergency departments at (a) Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich, (b) Princes Royal Hospital, Orpington and (c) Darent Valley Hospital, Dartford.

Simon Burns: Information is held at the level of trusts and is not available for specific hospital sites. The information is published every week and is available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Statistics/Performancedataandstatistics/WeeklySituationReports/index.htm

Breast Cancer: Screening

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of women who have had mammograms who subsequently have been informed of their breast density;
	(2)  what information his Department holds on the correlation between breast density and the five-year survival rate for women with breast cancer;
	(3)  if he will consider making it his policy that all GPs should inform women who have undergone breast screening of their breast density.

Paul Burstow: Breast density information is not routinely collected as part of the NHS Breast Screening Programme. General practitioners (GPs) are notified of the outcome of a patient's breast screening examination but this only covers whether the results were normal or whether the patient has been called back for further investigation. We have made no estimate of the proportion of women who have had mammograms and have subsequently been informed of their breast density.
	High breast density is known to increase the risk of a woman developing breast cancer. However, the Department holds no specific information on the correlation between breast density and the five-year survival rate for women with breast cancer.

Cancer

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects of (a) low dose aspirin, (b) vitamin D pills, (c) consumption of red meat and (d) consumption of alcohol on the development of cancer.

Paul Burstow: Over the last decade, the evidence base for using aspirin to prevent cancer has been growing. While its exact role in achieving this is not fully understood, it is thought that aspirin might prevent cancer through its anti-inflammatory effects and that it may also slow the build up of mutations that ultimately lead to the cancer. In addition to this, new research shows that the drug seems to slow the spread of disease by preventing cancer cells from being carried around the body on blood platelets.
	The Department, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and stakeholders are working in partnership to consider next steps on aspirin.
	The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), an advisory committee of independent experts that provides advice to the Department, considered the relationship between meat and bowel cancer as part of a risk assessment on iron and health in 2010. The available scientific evidence supports a probable association between red and processed meat consumption and bowel cancer risk. The SACN report Iron and Health can be found at:
	www.sacn.gov.uk/pdfs/sacn_iron_and_health_report_web.pdf
	SACN was unable to quantify the amount of red and processed meat that may be associated with increased bowel cancer risk due to the limitations and inconsistencies in the data. SACN are advising adults with relatively high intakes of red and processed meat, i.e. over 90g/day, to consider reducing their intakes. A reduction of intake to 70 grams a day, which is the population average, will not increase the proportion of the adult population with low iron intakes.
	In its 2007 statement, SACN advised that research into the link between vitamin D status and chronic diseases, including cancer, is inconclusive and further work is needed before any definitive conclusions can be drawn. The statement can be found at:
	www.sacn.gov.uk/pdfs/sacn_position_vitamin_d_2007_05_07.pdf
	In 2010, the Department asked SACN to undertake a comprehensive review of vitamin D and health and a SACN Working Group was set up to take forward this work. The proceedings of SACN's Vitamin D Working Group and its terms of reference are available at:
	www.sacn.gov.uk/meetings/working_groups/vitamin/index.html
	The review is not expected to complete until around 2014.
	The Department considered the evidence of alcohol on the development of cancer for the Change4Life alcohol health harms campaign that launched in February 2012. The International Agency for Research into Cancer recognises that alcohol is one of the most strongly established preventable causes of cancer, as evidenced through its “Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans”, which can be found at:
	http://monographs.iarc.fr/
	There is substantial evidence that drinking alcohol is associated with increased risk of seven types of cancer—oral, pharyngeal, laryngeal, oesophageal, breast, bowel, and liver cancers. There is also evidence that heavy drinking increases the risk of pancreatic cancer.

Health Services: Ex-servicemen

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 6 March 2012, Official Report, column 541W, on armed forces: psychology, if he will publish a list of the key recommendations of the Fighting Fit report by the hon. Member for South West Wiltshire that his Department has (a) taken forward and (b) not taken forward;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 29 February 2012, Official Report, column 541W, on health services: ex-servicemen, how much of the £22 million budget has been spent to date; and what the (a) name and (b) description is of each project that has been supported by the funding.

Simon Burns: The Department has made excellent progress to date, implementing the recommendations of my hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison), in his report “Fighting Fit”. To date, we have taken forward the following relevant projects: pilot of the Big White Wall online early intervention service for the armed forces, their families, and veterans; uplift in the NHS veterans’ mental health capability; e-learning package for general practitioner (GPs) on veteran-specific issues, in conjunction with the Royal College of GPs; and the veterans’ 24-hour helpline. The remaining recommendation contained within “Fighting Fit” was the Veterans’ Information Service, to be deployed 12 months after a person leaves the armed forces. This is currently being developed, and will be launched later in the year.
	With regard to the quoted £22 million budget associated with the report, approximately £15 million of this is funding dedicated to the improvement of veterans’ prosthetics services. £7.2 million will be spent over the spending review period on implementing the “Fighting Fit” recommendations. Of this, £1.8 million has already been spent on the projects already mentioned, with the remainder profiled over the rest of the spending review period.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent reports he has received on referral to treatment times in (a) Bexley Care Trust and (b) South London Healthcare NHS Trust areas.

Simon Burns: The information requested is as follows:
	The percentage of referral to treatment (RTT) patients that started admitted treatment within 18 weeks (admitted adjusted RTT pathways):
	(a) Bexley Care Trust = n/a (this trust does not have in-patient services)
	(b) South London Healthcare NHS Trust = 89.9%
	The percentage of RTT patients that started non-admitted treatment within 18 weeks (non-admitted RTT pathways):
	(a) Bexley Care Trust = 100%
	(b) South London Healthcare NHS Trust = 91.8%
	The percentage of RTT patients waiting within 18 weeks (incomplete RTT pathways):
	(a) Bexley Care Trust = 100%
	(b) South London Healthcare NHS Trust = 90.7%
	Notes
	1. Admitted RTT waiting times pathways are waiting times for patients whose treatment started during the month and involved admission to hospital.
	2. Non-admitted RTT pathways are waiting times for patients whose treatment started during the month and did not involve admission to hospital.
	3. Incomplete RTT pathways are waiting times for patients still waiting to start treatment at the end of the month.
	4. Adjustments are made to admitted RTT pathways for clock pauses, where a patient had declined reasonable offers of admission and chosen to wait longer.
	Source
	Department of Health referral to treatment waiting times statistics (Unify2 data collection) for February 2012

Meat

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with (a) the European Commission, (b) the UK meat-processing industry and (c) the devolved Administrations on the European Commission moratorium on the production of desinewed meat.

Anne Milton: The Food Standards Agency (FSA), which has policy responsibility in this area, has had the following discussions on desinewed meat:
	(a) The FSA held urgent discussions with senior European Commission (EC) officials once the EC made its position known on desinewed meat, securing an extension to the original five-day deadline for action. The FSA continues to pursue this matter vigorously with the EC at all levels.
	(b) The FSA has been in regular contact with businesses and industry representatives since the EC set out its position on desinewed meat. The FSA will continue its work on assessing the impact of the EC decision with industry bodies and affected businesses.
	(c) The FSA has been in regular contact with the devolved Administrations to assess the impact of the EC decision and develop practical guidance for affected businesses. The FSA has also been working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on this matter.

Meat

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of the European Commission moratorium on the production of desinewed meat on the UK meat processing industry.

Anne Milton: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Thirsk and Malton (Miss McIntosh) on 23 April 2012, Official Report, column 727W.

Meat

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what meetings he had with European Commission representatives on desinewed meat before the European Commission introduced its moratorium on the production of desinewed meat.

Anne Milton: The Food Standards Agency (FSA), which has policy responsibility in this area, participated in working groups at the European Commission which discussed guidance on mechanically separated meat (MSM). At these meetings, the FSA supported the United Kingdom position that desinewed meat should not be classed as MSM.

Meat

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of whether EU member states other than the UK export desinewed meat.

Anne Milton: The Food Standards Agency (FSA), which has policy responsibility in this area, has been informed by UK producers that desinewed meat is also exported by other member states. The FSA continues to work with industry to assemble evidence of this practice in other member states and of intra-community trade in this product.

Meat

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish any advice he has received on whether the production of desinewed meat complies with EU single market legislation.

Anne Milton: The Food Standards Agency (FSA), which has policy responsibility in this area, issued guidance in 2010 which reflected the United Kingdom view that desinewed meat (DSM) is distinct from mechanically separated meat (MSM). This is the view the UK has expressed in European Commission (EC) Working Groups.
	Following a Food and Veterinary Office mission in March 2012, the UK was informed by the EC that desinewed meat can no longer be produced from ruminant bones and that DSM made from poultry or pork bones should be labelled as MSM. The FSA has explained the EC decision in detail to industry and is working closely with industry representatives to assess the impact of the decision and produce guidance.

Medical Treatments

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 29 February 2012, Official Report, column 541W, on medical treatments, if his Department will conduct an assessment of studies, interventions and research into any effect of optimism on the ability of patients to fight (a) infectious and (b) cardiovascular disease.

Simon Burns: The Department has no plans to conduct such an assessment into any effect of optimism on the ability of patients to fight infectious and cardiovascular disease.

Mental Health Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS spent on each of the top five drugs to treat depression in each of the last five years.

Simon Burns: The cost to the national health service for the five antidepressant medicines for which it has incurred most expenditure and their ranking, for each year have been determined by adding the use in the community and in hospitals. However, because of the agreement under which the Health and Social Care Information Centre receive the hospital data, we are unable to give figures for individual medicines unless they have been positively appraised by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, which is not the case for antidepressants.
	The following table shows the order of greatest expenditure for each of the top five medicines, with the net ingredient cost (NIC) for their use in the community and a total for the estimated cost of the use of these five drugs in hospitals. The latest data we can provide for hospitals are for 2010; therefore the latest available five-year period is 2006 to 2010.
	
		
			  Community 
			 Overall rank : 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 
			  Drug NIC (£) Drug NIC (£) Drug NIC (£) Drug NIC (£) 
			 2006 Venlafaxine 78,018,719 Escitalopram 28,735,236 Sertraline 26,285,316 Mirtazapine 25,055,639 
			 2007 Venlafaxine 78,266,903 Mirtazapine 30,769,299 Citalopram 26,297,084 Escitalopram 27,116,559 
			 2008 Venlafaxine 83,144,970 Mirtazapine 29,622,183 Escitalopram 25,160,394 Citalopram 15,585,255 
			 2009 Venlafaxine 78,029,438 Escitalopram 24,361,317 Mirtazapine 23,514,730 Citalopram 17,821,415 
			 2010 Venlafaxine 63,865,331 Escitalopram 24,965,426 Citalopram 21,574,191 Fluoxetine 21,091,828 
		
	
	
		
			  Community Hospital spend (£) Total spend (£) 
			 Overall rank: 5th 1-5 1-5 
			  Drug NIC (£) Estimated cost  
			 2006 Citalopram 23,775,430 7,897,545 189,767,885 
			 2007 Fluoxetine 17,616,438 6,923,718 186,990,001 
			 2008 Lofepramine 15,222,407 6,304,488 175,039,697 
			 2009 Amitriptyline 15,764,074 5,614,081 165,105,055 
			 2010 Amitriptyline 17,686,679 4,162,218 153,345,673 
			 Notes: 1. The community spend is NIC and is taken from the Prescription Cost Analysis system. 2. The hospital dispensing information is provided by IMS. It is based on information collected by IMS from most hospitals in England. 3. The cost to the NHS is the total of the amount dispensed in the community and the amount used in hospital. There may also be some expenditure by mental health trusts involving direct supply rather than prescriptions and not passing through a hospital pharmacy. This use is not collected centrally.

Mental Health Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the use of galvanic skin response meters in the treatment of mental health patients.

Paul Burstow: Our priority is to ensure people have access to a wide range of therapies and treatments, based on evidence assessed by the National institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE). NICE has not issued guidance on the use of galvanic skin response meters. However, services are not restricted to offering NICE approved therapies and treatments and there are many other forms of therapy made available through the national health service when clinicians and other professionals deem it appropriate.

Mental Health Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will ask the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to assess the efficacy of mindfulness-based therapy for the conditions of (a) bipolar disorder, (b) social phobia, (c) drug misuse, (d) alcohol misuse, (e) psychological symptoms that accompany cancer, (f) blood pressure, (g) chronic pain and (h) stress; and if he will ask the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to assess the efficacy of mindfulness-based therapy to reduce the symptoms of (i) fibromyalgia, (ii) psoriasis and (iii) multiple sclerosis.

Anne Milton: We have no plans to ask the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to develop guidance specifically on mindfulness-based therapy.
	NICE has developed clinical guidelines on a number of these conditions and is responsible for determining the exact scope of its guidance on individual disease areas, including the specific interventions covered.
	NICE'S clinical guidelines on depression in adults, published in October 2009, and on common mental health disorders, published in May 2011, include recommendations on mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.

Mental Illnesses

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average relapse rate is for people suffering with depression.

Anne Milton: Although most patients remit from any episode of depression (when it is not chronic), symptoms often come back at some later time. Depression is now considered to be a largely recurrent disorder and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy prepares people to prevent recurrence. There is no average relapse rate of depression.

Mental Illnesses

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effects of chronic depression on the mortality rates of those affected;
	(2)  if he will estimate the proportion of chronically depressed people who (a) smoke, (b) are alcoholics, (c) take illegal drugs, (d) are obese and (e) are physically inactive.

Anne Milton: No such estimates have been made for chronically depressed people. However, individual studies show people with depression are at a greater risk of early death and that having a mental health problem increases the risk of physical ill health. This is why one of the agreed objectives of the mental health strategy “No Health Without Mental Health” is that more people with mental health problems will have good physical health, and progress will be monitored against this objective in the NHS outcomes framework with indicators on the mortality rate of people with mental illness (domain 5) and under 75 mortality rate in people with serious mental illness (domain 1).
	There is a clear association between mental illness and drug and alcohol dependence and we know that people experiencing mental ill health have a higher risk of substance misuse. There is currently no standardised treatment for people with dual diagnosis (co-existing mental health and drug and alcohol problems); largely because the condition covers such a broad, range of problems. The Government continue to actively promote and support improvements in commissioning and service provision for this group, their families and carers.
	We recognise that smoking is a significant health challenge for people with mental health problems. “No Health Without Mental Health” makes clear that help to stop smoking can play a very big part in improving the physical health of people with mental health problems.
	It is for NHS commissioners to decide how best to allocate and manage their funds to match the needs of their populations. We are currently working on an implementation framework for the mental health strategy which will be published shortly.

Musculoskeletal Disorders

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on the publication of a Pathway for musculoskeletal diseases; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: We have had no such discussions. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) uses online Pathways as a way of presenting information from existing NICE guidance on a particular topic. The topics for which a Pathway presentation is developed, and the sequencing of associated development work, are determined by NICE itself.

NHS: Pay

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many employees in the NHS received incremental pay progression in each of the last three years.

Simon Burns: No data are readily available in this format. We estimate that in September 2010 around two-thirds of staff under “Agenda for Change” are not yet at the top of their pay band and so would be eligible for further incremental progression.

NHS: Training

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will consider making mindfulness-based techniques a compulsory element for the training of GPs and surgeons;
	(2)  if he will estimate the proportion of recently trained GPs who received training in mindfulness-based techniques;
	(3)  whether mindfulness-based techniques are offered as an option to all those training to be GPs and surgeons;
	(4)  what positive and negative aspects his Department has identified of the use of (a) drug therapy and (b) mindfulness-based therapy for reported bouts of depression;
	(5)  what estimate his Department has made of the number of people affected by obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in each of the last five years; and how many people were diagnosed with OCD in each such year;
	(6)  what treatments are available on the NHS for obsessive compulsive disorder; and whether any of those treatments include mindfulness-based techniques;
	(7)  what assessment he has made of the use of mindfulness-based techniques to overcome obsessive compulsive disorder.

Paul Burstow: The prevalence of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in 1993, 2000 and 2007 is available from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2007, and shows the following:
	
		
			 Prevalence of OCD among adults ages 16 to 64 and living in England 
			  Percentage 
			 1993 1.4 
			 2000 1.2 
			 2007 1.3 
		
	
	Data on the number of people affected by OCD in each of the last five years and how many people were diagnosed with OCD in each such year is not held centrally.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) approved treatments for OCD that are available through Improving Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) services are Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) based. These treatments for OCD are taught routinely as part IAPT High Intensity Therapist national training courses. Currently, there is no evidence base established for the use of mindfulness techniques in the treatment of OCD. However, mindfulness is an emerging and growing field with randomised control trials under way on its use in the treatment of a number of long-term conditions. In future, if evidence suggests it is effective in the treatment of OCD then IAPT services will use it for patients with OCD.
	It is the job of NICE to carry out such assessments of the evidence base of treatments. The latest guidance produced by NICE on the treatment of anxiety disorders published in January 2011 does not recommend mindfulness techniques in the treatment of OCD. The treatments recommended combine psychological therapies and medication as appropriate to the level of the patient's disorder.
	With regards to the content and standard of medical training, this is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC), which is the competent authority for medical training in the United Kingdom. The GMC is an independent professional body. Its role is that of custodian of quality standards in medical education and practice.
	The GMC is committed to ensuring high quality patient care delivered by high quality doctors and that doctors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to deal with the problems and conditions they will encounter in practice.
	Both drug therapy and mindfulness-based CBT therapy are NICE approved for the treatment of recurrent depression. Randomised controlled trials show that a combination of drug therapy and mindfulness provide the best results in recurrent depression.

Official Secrets

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether any person employed by (a) his Department, (b) the agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible and (c) any private firms contracted by his Department is bound by any part of the Official Secrets Act.

Anne Milton: All Crown servants and Government contractors (as defined by sections 12(1) and 12(2) of the Official Secrets Act 1989) are subject to the requirements of the Official Secrets Act.
	The employment contracts for civil servants in the Department and its agency make explicit reference to being bound by the Official Secrets Act, although they are no longer required to sign the Official Secrets Act. The Department's Code of Business Conduct, published on its intranet, makes explicit reference to the Official Secrets Act, and the duties of civil servants and everyone working for and on behalf of the Department.
	Contractors, and their employees, providing goods or services to the Department are subject to the Official Secrets Act in a similar way as civil servants.
	The precise legal position of staff working for the Department's non-departmental public bodies is currently being established and I will write to the hon. Member with this information as soon as possible and place a copy in the Library.

Pain: Mental Illnesses

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the proportion of patients suffering with chronic pain who have mental health problems.

Paul Burstow: The chapter on chronic pain in the 2008 Annual Report of the former chief medical officer estimated that 49%, of people with chronic pain suffered from depression. Other literature suggests that depression is four times more common for people in persistent pain compared to those without such pain. Data collected as part of the Health Survey for England 2011, which included a module on chronic pain, should enable us to update these estimates.

Postnatal Depression

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to increase the availability of places in mother and baby units for women experiencing severe post-natal depression or puerperal psychosis;
	(2)  how many women with puerperal psychosis were treated in general psychiatric wards in each of the last three years;
	(3)  what action he is taking to improve the data collected by his Department on post-natal depression;
	(4)  what steps he is taking to increase the availability of psychological therapies for women experiencing post-natal depression;
	(5)  what steps he is taking to increase the ability of GPs and health visitors to recognise and offer appropriate support to women suffering from post-natal depression; and if he will make a statement;
	(6)  how many NHS trusts currently have waiting times in excess of National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines for access to psychological treatments for mothers experiencing post-natal depression;
	(7)  how many NHS trusts do not have access to a mother and baby unit for women suffering from severe post-natal depression or puerperal psychosis.

Anne Milton: We do not hold data on the number of mothers experiencing post-natal depression. Our data sources that hold detailed demographics and diagnostics data are restricted to secondary care and the majority of women experiencing post natal depression are expected to be treated in primary care.
	We do not have the figures for the numbers of women with post puerperal psychosis treated in general psychiatric wards because there is no specific diagnostic code for puerperal psychosis. It is included in a general code covering all severe mental health disorders associated with the puerperium and to provide analysis on this general code would be misleading.
	Current coding practice means that diagnostic codes are usually only recorded for discharged in-patients.
	The issue of improving links between maternity and mental health information collections to enable better analysis has been considered by the NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre. Recommendations for improvement will be developed during 2012-13.
	Commissioning mother and baby units is included in the Specialised Services National Definition Set, which is commissioned by Specialised Commissioning Groups. The Specialised Commissioning Groups have worked together to agree a specification for mother and baby units so that they will all commission to the same standard from 1 April 2012.
	There is currently a Perinatal Clinical Reference Group for specialised services, which is developing the in-patient specification further, developing quality outcome measures and considering some possible commissioning for quality and innovation targets to enable commissioners to reward excellence.
	A Perinatal Positive Practice Guide was produced by the Department in January 2009 which confirms that improving access to psychological therapies (IAPT) services should be commissioned to meet the needs of those with perinatal mental health problems. A number of access issues, treatment requirements, workforce training implications and other considerations are identified, together with examples of good practice across IAPT services and other generic and specialist services.
	The IAPT data collection does not include information about access and waiting times for women experiencing post-natal depression and post puerperal psychosis.
	The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Standards for Maternity Care (published in 2008) state that all health professionals involved in the care of women following childbirth should be able to distinguish normal emotional and psychological changes from significant mental health problems, and to refer women for support according to their needs. The Standard also states that women who require to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital following delivery should be admitted to a specialist psychiatric mother and baby unit.
	It is for local national health service organisations to commission and deliver local health services, to meet the needs of their local populations.
	The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health led the work to produce an innovative e-learning package to support healthcare professionals deliver the evidence based Healthy Child programme during pregnancy and the first five years. These includes modules on family health, positive parenting and parenting issues and health promotion. This e-learning is available free to NHS staff.
	The Healthy Child programme includes an assessment of the mother's mental health at six to eight weeks after giving birth and three to four months after giving birth for identifying depression as part of the universal programme. The National Programme of Health Visiting envisages that the health visitor with specialist training will be the key health professional undertaking the assessment using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale during the perinatal period.

Prescription Drugs

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of money spent on prescription drugs in the NHS.

Simon Burns: The Government are taking a number of measures to: help the national health service spend money efficiently on prescription drugs, while delivering good quality patient care. Relevant initiatives in this area include:
	The Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention medicines use and procurement work stream supports prescribing services to review and change their practice, to ensure they are prescribing the most cost-effective, clinically appropriate drugs available in a treatment category.
	The Category M pricing system controls the prices for the majority of national health service expenditure on generic medicines. It adjusts reimbursement prices in line with market prices each quarter, taking into account the findings of the medicines margins survey, which monitors the amount of margin pharmacies earn on the medicines they dispense. From 2004 (the year before Category M was introduced) to 2010, the average reimbursement price of a generic prescription item dispensed in the community has fallen by 23%.
	The current Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme controls the price of branded medicines supplied to the NHS through a series of price adjustments, which include a price cut of 3.9% in the first year of the agreement, a further price cut of 1.9% in January 2010, followed by three successive annual price increases of 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.2%.

Prescription Drugs: Prices

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Government intends to publish further plans for a new value based system for the pricing of new medicines in the NHS; and if he will hold a public consultation on any such plans.

Simon Burns: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 27 February 2012, Official Report, column 117W, to the hon. Member for Mid Derbyshire (Pauline Latham).

Prescription Drugs: Shortages

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what representations he has received requesting that his Department undertake an independent survey of shortages of medicines at local pharmacies;
	(2)  if he will commission an independent survey of shortage of medicines at local pharmacies.

Simon Burns: In the period 1 October 2011 to 19 April 2012, the Department's ministerial correspondence database indicates four written representations were received, all from hon. Members, requesting an independent survey of shortages of medicines at local pharmacies. This figure is approximate, representing minimum figures received by the Department. This excludes the current questions from the hon. Member.
	We are cautious about placing additional data return burdens on pharmacists but we are considering, with stakeholders, taking forward a one-off survey. We continue to work with supply chain stakeholders to exchange information and seek solutions to any supply issues so that patients receive the medicines they need.

Smoking

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will assess trends in the number of (a) lifetime smokers, (b) lifetime non-smokers and (c) ex-smokers after 30 years of smoking who live until the age of (i) 50, (ii) 55, (iii) 60, (iv) 65, (v) 70, (vi) 75, (vii) 80, (viii) 85, (ix) 90, (x) 95 and (xi) 100.

Anne Milton: While the information requested is not available centrally, there is published evidence on the effects of smoking on mortality.
	In 2011, the Government published ‘Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A tobacco control plan for England’. The plan cites evidence that suggests that by successfully quitting smoking, people can avoid smoking-related diseases and live longer, whatever their age.
	A study published in the British Medical Journal in 2004 found that about half of continuing smokers die prematurely from their habit, that a quarter of smoking-related deaths occur in the 35 to 69-year-old age range and that life expectancy for smokers is reduced, on average, by about 10 years (Doll, R., Peto, R., Boreham, J. and Sutherland, I. (2004) ‘Mortality in relation to smoking: 50 years' observations on male British doctors’ in British Medical Journal, 328: 1519-1527).
	Further information on the health risks of smoking tobacco and the benefits of quitting are summarised by the Royal College of Physicians of London in chapter 6 of their publication ‘Harm Reduction in Nicotine Addiction: Helping people who can’t quit’ This publication is available on the web at:
	http://bookshop.rcplondon.ac.uk/contents/pub234-aafdfc2b-5c23-4ee3-8f1d-ea18f017edce.pdf
	‘Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A tobacco control plan for England’ has already been placed in the Library.

Speech Therapy: Children

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists to discuss funding for speech therapy for children; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave on 15 March 2012, Official Report, column 381W, to the hon. Member for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (Tom Blenkinsop).

Strokes

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the role of constraint-induced movement therapy to improve the recovery rates of people who have suffered a stroke;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of stroke victims have received constraint-induced movement therapy in each of the last five years.

Simon Burns: The Department has made no assessment of the role of constraint-induced movement therapy to improve the recovery rates of people who have suffered a stroke. However, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is currently developing a clinical guideline on stroke rehabilitation. The guideline will consider the role of constraint-induced movement in stroke rehabilitation.
	The Health and Social Care Hospital Episodes Statistics database does not collect information on the number and proportion of stroke victims who receive constraint-induced movement therapy.

DEFENCE

Aircraft Carriers

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with which NATO members he expects the UK will have interoperability of carrier strike capability using F-35Cs by 2025.

Gerald Howarth: holding answer 19 March 2012
	We are currently finalising the 2012-13 budget and balancing the Equipment Plan. As part of this process we are reviewing all programmes, including elements of the carrier strike programme. The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), expects to announce the outcome of this process to Parliament soon.

Credit Cards

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for how many credit card transactions made by employees of his Department the person making the transaction has been asked to refund to the Department in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence does not issue credit cards, but the Department does use the Government Procurement Card (GPC) to purchase low value items and services up to the value of £5,000. The GPC is a purchasing/payment card and not a credit card. The number of recorded refunds to the Ministry of Defence for the deliberate misuse of GPCs in financial year 2011-12 is zero.

Falkland Islands

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the annual cost was on the ongoing military presence in the Falkland Islands in each year since 2005.

Nick Harvey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 March 2012, Official Report, columns 324-25W, to the right hon. Member for East Renfrewshire (Mr Murphy).

NATO

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the Government has contributed to NATO's (a) civil budget, (b) military budget and (c) Security Investment Programme since 2002.

Gerald Howarth: The amount contributed by the UK to NATO's civil budget, military budget and the NATO Security Investment Programme (NSIP) since 2002 is as follows:
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Financial year Civil Budget (1) Military Budget (2) NSIP (3) 
			 2002-03 18.2 54.8 40.9 
			 2003-04 18.7 39.9 48.4 
			 2004-05 17.6 61.8 61.1 
			 2005-06 17.8 53.6 64.7 
			 2006-07 17.3 73.1 50.2 
			 2007-08 25.9 72.3 58.8 
			 2008-09 25.7 86.5 68.9 
			 2009-10 26.3 95.1 76.3 
			 2010-11 24.7 100.8 73.3 
			 2011-12 22.8 104.3 66.3 
			 (1) Funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. (2) Funded by the Ministry of Defence. (3) Military Budget & NSIP amounts include costs for NATO Operations and Missions.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

St Helena: Airports

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on what criteria he based his decision to re-open the tendering process for the construction of an airport on St Helena.

Andrew Mitchell: Following the state of paralysis and indecision under the previous Government the criteria for re-opening the tender process were set out in my written ministerial statement of 22 July 2010, Official Report, column 46WS.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many persons have been arrested in the Turks and Caicos Islands as a result of the ongoing Special Investigation and Prosecution Team investigation.

Henry Bellingham: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.
	13 people have been arrested and charged with corruption, conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.

JUSTICE

Abu Qatada

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  whether the current legal proceedings undertaken by Abu Qatada are funded by legal aid; and what expenditure from the public purse has been (a) incurred to date and (b) allocated for this purpose;
	(2)  how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful applications for legal aid have been made by Abu Qatada; what the cost to the public purse has been of any such successful application; and how many such applications have not yet been costed, by year of application.

Jonathan Djanogly: The deportation against Abu Qatada is still ongoing. It would be wrong of me to comment on any administrative aspect such as legal aid until the matter has concluded. The Legal Services Commission (LSC) is the body with operational responsibility for legal aid in England and Wales. When it is able to do so, the LSC will publish details of the legal aid costs on its website in accordance with requests made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Administration of Justice: Secrecy

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  with reference to Appendix J, paragraph 11 of the Justice and Security Green Paper, how many of the cases referred to concern material related to national security;
	(2)  when he plans to answer question 100537 on the Justice and Security Green Paper;

Kenneth Clarke: I am sorry for the delay in responding to the right hon. Member. 24 of the 27 cases referred to concern material related to national security.

Citizens Advice Bureau

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the potential effects of reductions in funding of (a) Citizens Advice Bureau and (b) other charities providing legal advice under the provisions of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill.

Jonathan Djanogly: The impact assessment and equality impact assessment published alongside the response to consultation lay out the Government's assessment of the likely costs and benefits of the reforms, with the EIA laying out specific impacts on not for profit organisations. Ultimately, impacts arising from the changes will be driven by behavioural responses, and these cannot be predicted with any real degree of accuracy. We will undertake a post-implementation review of the reforms between 3-5 years following implementation.

Consultants

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General on efficiency and reform in government corporate functions through shared service centres, HC 1790, which management consultants were involved in (a) setting up and (b) operation of the shared service centre project for his Department.

Kenneth Clarke: The information is as follows:
	( a) Four management consultancies were engaged for specific activities in the setting up of the shared services centre project.
	ACCENTVRE contributed to the development of the HR and Procurement operating models
	PA CONSULTING contributed to the development of the finance model and benefits realisation approach
	THE BOURTON GROUP contributed to the development of staff modelling for the retained finance function
	ORION PARTNERS contributed to the development of the business change approach
	This consultancy was in relation to the NOMS Shared Service Operation between 2005 and 2008, on which the Ministry of Justice Shared Service Operation has been built.
	(b) No management consultants have been used in the operation of the Shared Service Centre project.

Crime: Vehicles

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the highest number of previous convictions was for taking a vehicle without consent for an individual convicted of an offence of taking a vehicle without consent without being sent to prison in each of the last three years; and how many offences they had committed in total at the point of sentence for that offence.

Crispin Blunt: The figures provided cover theft of a motor vehicle under section 1 of the Theft Act 1968; unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle under section 37 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988; and aggravated taking of a vehicle without consent which includes section 12A of the Theft Act 1968.
	The table shows the highest number of previous convictions for these offences in the years 2008 to 2010 who received a sentence other than immediate custody. It also shows for the individual the total number of previous cautions and convictions for any offence at the point of sentence and the number of previous immediate custodial sentences for any offence.
	These figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.
	
		
			 Highest number of previous convictions for taking a vehicle without consent, for an individual convicted of this offence without being sent to prison, in England and Wales in the years 2008 - 10 
			  2008 2009 2010 
			 Number of previous convictions for taking a vehicle without consent 81 60 56 
			 Number of previous cautions and convictions for any offence at time of conviction 274 214 244 
			 Number of previous immediate custodial sentences for any offence at time of conviction 113 77 107

Daedalus Initiative

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether young offenders selected for the proposed successor to the Daedalus initiative will be drawn from the six diamond districts or all London boroughs.

Crispin Blunt: The intention is that resettlement support should be available to young people from any London borough leaving custody. Specific details will be confirmed following the appointment of successful bidders for the European Social Fund Youth Programme.

Domestic Violence

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of those charged with offences related to domestic violence have been (a) brought to court by the Crown Prosecution Service and (b) convicted in (i) London and (ii) England in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Garnier: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Attorney-General.
	The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the outcomes of defendant proceedings.
	The following below shows the number of defendants prosecuted by the CPS in London and England for offences of domestic violence in each of the last five years for which figures are available. There has been a significant increase in both the number of convictions and the conviction rate since 2007-08.
	
		
			  London England 
			  Total prosecuted Total convicted Total prosecuted Total convicted 
			  Number Number Percentage Number Number Percentage 
			 2007-08 6,688 3,898 58.3 59,898 41,184 68.8 
			 2008-09 7.193 4,452 61.9 62,824 45,349 72.2 
			 2009-10 8,729 5,212 59.7 69,491 49,962 71.9 
			 2010-11 10,570 6,204 58.7 77,007 55,333 71.9 
			 2011-12 10,095 6,326 62.7 73,831 54,025 73.2

Family Courts: Expert Evidence

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will take steps to increase the transparency of proceedings in the Family Court and Court of Protection particularly in reference to expert reports.

Jonathan Djanogly: Any desire to make the family courts or the Court of Protection more open must be carefully balanced with the parties' rights to privacy and the interests of the children or vulnerable adults involved.
	Accredited media representatives have been able to attend most family proceedings since April 2009; while the media may apply to the court to see certain documents, they must not publish the content to the public at large or any information that would identify the child. Currently, the courts do not routinely name experts, however each decision is made on an individual basis. The Court of Protection has a general power to authorise publication of information about proceedings and to order a hearing to be held in public and regularly publishes its judgments, which are widely available.
	We are currently considering more ways in which greater information can be released from the family courts.

Family Courts: Expert Evidence

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward legislative proposals to enable non-legally qualified people to refer expert reports in family proceedings to regulators.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Government accept that there is a need for reform of the use of expert witness evidence in family proceedings, which is frequently provided by doctors and other health professionals. In their response to the Family Justice Review, published on 6 February, the Government set out their intention to work with expert witness representative bodies and others to improve the quality of expert witness reports. The Government also intend to legislate to reduce unnecessary use of expert witness reports in care proceedings.
	There is no requirement for a person to be legally qualified in order for them to make a complaint to health regulators, including the General Medical Council, about the activities of a doctor or other registered health professional and request that their fitness to practise be investigated.

Government: Ministerial Meetings

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what meetings (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department have had with Sarah Southern since 12 May 2010;
	(2)  what meetings (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department have had with Peter Cruddas since 12 May 2010.

Kenneth Clarke: Neither I nor my ministerial team or special advisers have held meetings with Peter Cruddas or Sarah Southern since 12 May 2010.
	The Department publishes quarterly meetings between Ministers and external organisations as well as meetings between permanent secretaries and external organisations. Quarters from October 2011 will be published in due course. This can be found at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/corporate-reports
	The Ministry of Justice does not centrally record meetings attended by all officials in the Department. To collate the remaining information for the time period stated would exceed the cost limit for answering parliamentary questions.

Legal Aid Scheme

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether his Department has carried out an impact assessment on the effects of the reduction in legal aid funding on (a) Coventry and (b) the west midlands.

Jonathan Djanogly: As explained to the hon. Member on 3 February 2011, Official Report, column 942W, there was no intention to conduct impact assessments on specific geographies as part of the impact assessment process. The impact assessments and equality impact assessments published alongside the response to consultation lay out the Government's assessment of the likely costs and benefits of the reforms; however these do not contain any detailed geographic analysis of impacts.
	Ultimately, impacts arising from the changes will be driven by behavioural responses, and these cannot be predicted with any real degree of accuracy. We will undertake a post-implementation review of the reforms between three and five years following implementation.

Legal Aid Scheme

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of people living in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) the West Midlands and (d) Dudley are receiving legal aid for cases concerning (i) welfare, (ii) debt, (iii) housing, (iv) employment and (v) education;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of people living in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) the West Midlands and (d) Dudley are receiving legal aid.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Legal Services Commission (LSC) has operational responsibility for legal aid in England and Wales only; legal aid in Scotland and Northern Island is a devolved matter.
	The LSC funded 2.7 million legal aid acts of assistance in England and Wales in 2010-11. It is not however possible to disaggregate the number of acts of assistance in England, the West Midland or Dudley from total acts of assistance in England and Wales without incurring disproportionate cost. The number of Acts of Assistance in welfare, debt, housing, employment and education throughout England and Wales during 2010-11 is provided in the following table:
	
		
			 Category of law Controlled Work (legal help including advice and assistance) Licensed Work (matters funded under a legal aid certificate in cases that may proceed to court) 
			 Housing 117,044 10,796 
			 Welfare benefits 120,020 22 
			 Debt 127,834 345 
			 Employment 25,275 55 
			 Education 4,665 139

Legal Aid Scheme

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effect of introducing a telephone gateway for legal aid enquiries on people who are (a) disabled, (b) homeless and (c) cannot speak English.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Government have complied with the public sector equality duty under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 and published an Equality Impact Assessment (both at the time of the consultation on the legal aid reforms and at the time of the Government's Response to the consultation) which includes consideration of the mandatory gateway policy and its impact on those with protected characteristics. The public sector equality duty is a continuing one and we will continue to comply with it.
	The proposals for the mandatory gateway build on the existing Community Legal Advice helpline which has been in operation since 2004. The CLA helpline offers a range of facilities to help people who would normally struggle to access telephone advice, including disabled people and individuals seeking advice in a language other then English or Welsh.

Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what representations he has received from (a) individuals and (b) organisations on changes to the provision of legal aid proposed in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Legal Aid Reform consultation was published in November 2010 and received more than 5,000 responses, from a range of individuals and organisations. A summary of responses in each particular area is detailed in the Government's response to consultation.

Legal Costs

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on fees for legal work in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice spent approximately £26.77 million on corporate legal fees in the 2010-11 financial year. This covers fees for advice and representation work paid to solicitors external to the Department (both the Treasury Solicitor and private firms), Counsel and Parliamentary Counsel. It does not include any operational spend, including that on legal aid.
	For the first three quarters of the 2011-12 financial year (April to December 2011), the corporate legal spend figure is approximately £15.11 million. Figures for the last quarter (January to March 2012) have not yet been finalised.

Members: Constituents

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to assist hon. Members in their role in assisting constituents with casework which relates to legal issues.

Jonathan Djanogly: We are working with a variety of experts and stakeholders, to find innovative ways to provide the practical help and guidance that people need. There are sources of help such as DirectGov, but this is not just about what Government, or traditional legal and not-for-profit firms can provide, but alternative sources of help such as online communities which offer practical advice and tips, as well as books and guides. There is also the Community Legal Advice telephone helpline, and people will still be able access face to face advice in the priority areas of legal aid remaining in scope.

EDUCATION

Academies

Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools have (a) converted and (b) applied to convert to academy status in (i) Woking constituency, (ii) Surrey and (iii) England.

Nick Gibb: As of 1 April 2012:
	(i) in Woking, three schools have applied to convert to academy status. Of these, one school has converted (Goldsworth Primary School) and two schools are in the pipeline (New Monument School and Broadmere Community Primary School).
	(ii) in Surrey, 34 schools have applied to convert to academy status. Of these, 22 schools have converted (four primary and 18 secondary), and 12 schools are in the pipeline (three primary, six secondary, and three special schools).
	(iii) in England, 2,083 schools have applied to convert (767 primary, 1,244 secondary and 72 special). Of these, 1,421 have converted (441 primary, 952 secondary and 28 special).

Academies

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 8 December 2011, Official Report, columns 440-1W, on academies, how many applications for consent for disposal of assets have been received since May 2010; and how many have been approved.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 23 April 2012
	Since May 2010, 17 academies have applied to dispose of land. 11 applications have been approved.

Academies: Finance

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding was received from all Government sources by (a) the Harris Academy at Peckham, (b) the Harris Girls' Academy, East Dulwich, (c) the Harris Boys' Academy, East Dulwich, (d) Walworth Academy and (e) St Michael and All Angels Academy in each financial year since 2009-10.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 23 April 2012
	The Education Funding Agency funds academies on an academic year basis. Therefore the following figures are for each academic year since 2009/10.
	We do not keep records of payments to academies by other Government Departments. Therefore any funding from sources other than this Department is not included in the figures.
	
		
			  Academic year: 
			  2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 (planned) 
			 Harris Academy at Peckham    
			 Capital 0 0 0 
			 Revenue 11,001,611 9,580,298 8,466,387 
			     
			 Harris Academy East Dulwich—Girls    
			 Capital 7,716,867 5,286,075 367,741 
			 Revenue 7,060,335 6,491,263 6,188,008 
			     
			 Harris Academy East Dulwich—Boys    
			 Capital 20,485,477 2,219,552 0 
			 Revenue 3,741,885 3,983,983 4,394,479 
			     
			 Walworth Academy (Southwark)    
			 Capital 0 0 0 
			 Revenue 7,615,743 8,363,506 8,505,591 
			     
			 St Michael and All Angels (Southwark)    
			 Capital 0 30,475 0 
			 Revenue 7,033,170 6,939,179 3,486,798

CAFCASS

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many family court advisers are employed by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) in each CAFCASS region;
	(2)  whether his Department has issued guidance to the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service on the maximum number of cases to be allocated to each family court advisor at any one time.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 24 April 2012
	CAFCASS is an independent body with its own procedures in place to deal with staff and workloads. The Department for Education does not therefore hold this information and has not provided guidance on caseloads. Anthony Douglas, the chief executive of CAFCASS, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of his response has been placed in the Libraries.
	Letter from Anthony Douglas CBE, dated 24 April 2012
	I am writing to you in order to provide answers to the Parliamentary Questions that you tabled recently:
	105104: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many family court advisers are employed by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) in each CAFCASS region.
	Please see the following table which indicates the head count for Family Court Advisors (FCAs) in each Cafcass service area on 23 April 2012.
	
		
			 Cafcass service area FCA headcount 
			 A1: Tyneside, Northumbria, Cumbria 51 
			 A2: Durham, Teesside and North Yorkshire 52 
			 A3: Greater Manchester 89 
			 A4: South Yorkshire and Humberside 62 
			 A5: West Yorkshire 61 
			 A6: Hampshire and the Isle of Wight 37 
			 A7: Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 64 
			 A8: Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset 78 
			 A9: Cheshire, Merseyside and Lancashire 99 
			 A10: Shropshire, Staffordshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire 45 
			 A11: Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire 77 
			 A12: Birmingham and the Black Country 93 
			 A13: National Business Centre, Coventry and Northamptonshire 26 
			 A14: Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire 94 
			 A15: Greater London 157 
			 A16: Surrey and Sussex 44 
			 A17: Kent 31 
			 Total 1,160 
		
	
	105107: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has issued guidance to the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service on the maximum number of cases to be allocated to each family court advisor at any one time.
	While Cafcass has not issued any guidance to its staff which specifies, the maximum number of cases that may be allocated at any one time, we have been operating a trial workload weighting system, in agreement with our recognised trade union partners, NAPO and Unison. This system is based on ascribing a points ‘weighting’ to the various types and stages of family court cases in which Cafcass is involved. The total points value for each member of staff is then given a red/amber/green banding, with the expected being that staff should generally operate within or close to the green ‘expected’ range, rather than remain in the red or amber ranges.
	Though the formal trialling of this workload weighting tool ended in September 2011, we have continued to monitor the workloads of staff using this tool, and we have recently agreed with the unions that a revised version of the tool is to be implemented, with effect from 1 June 2012.

Curriculum: Design

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to support (a) ICT enhanced learning, (b) MIRANDANET and its partners in the creation of a British Library for ICT enhanced learning and (c) teaching of design technology in schools.

Nick Gibb: The Government are supporting ICT in education by allocating a total of £3.75 million over the period 2011-13 to fund regional centres to share professional development opportunities and resources for teachers in the effective use of ICT. These are delivered by the VITAL consortium, comprising the Open University and e-Skills UK. The Government welcome developments such as those of MIRANDANET and its partners. We encourage opportunities presented by digital technologies to improve teaching and deliver education more effectively.
	We are also providing funding to the Design and Technology Association of a total of £550,000 over the period 2011-13 to deliver high quality continuing professional development to teachers, with a focus on computer aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) and electronics and communications technology.

Curriculum: Languages

Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils took a foreign language at GCSE level in (a) Woking constituency, (b) Surrey and (c) England in 2011; and what proportion achieved grades A* to C.

Nick Gibb: The information requested has been provided in the following table for 2010/11 for England, Surrey and for Woking constituency.
	
		
			 Number and percentage of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 (1, 2 ) taking a foreign language GCSE (3, 4 ) and the percentage achieving an A*-C grade, 2010/11 (5) 
			  England (6) Surrey (7) Woking (8) 
			 Number of pupils taking a foreign language GCSE 217,659 5,337 533 
			 Percentage of pupils taking a foreign language GCSE 38.5 49.8 62.9 
			 Of which:    
			 Percentage achieving an A*-C grade 70.5 71.7 78.0 
			 (1) Figures do not include pupils recently arrived from overseas. (2) Figures include all maintained schools, including CTCs and academies. (3) Figures include French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Modern Greek, Portuguese, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Gujarati, Japanese, Modern Hebrew, Panjabi, Polish, Russian, Turkish, Urdu, Persian, Danish, Hindi, Latin, Classical Greek and Biblical Hebrew. (4) Full GCSEs only have been included (Full GCSEs, double awards, accredited international certificates and their predecessor iGCSEs). (5) Includes attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years. (6) England figures are the sum of all local authorities. (7) Local authority figures are based on the local authority maintaining the school or in the case of CTCs and academies the local authority in which the school is situated. (8) Parliamentary constituency figures are based on the postcode of the school. Source: National Pupil Database (2010/11 revised data)

Free Schools

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will estimate the cost to the public purse arising from independent schools that have adopted or applied to adopt free school status.

Nick Gibb: By extending high quality independent school places into the state sector, the free schools programme is enabling children to gain access to places that they could otherwise not afford. Independent schools becoming free schools receive a grant of £25,000 to contribute towards their legal costs of converting to academy status and may in some cases receive some capital funding particularly if that is necessary to allow for expansion. This funding is decided on a case by case basis.
	Revenue funding for these schools is an amount per pupil which is equivalent to that received by maintained schools and academies in the same local authority area. The net additional cost of these additional places will depend on a number of factors, including how quickly a school's pupil intake changes once they become a free school.

Further Education: Finance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to ensure that funding reductions do not disproportionately affect specialist 16 to 19 education providers that are not schools.

Nick Gibb: The budget for specialist provision for young people with a learning difficulty or a disability aged 16 to 25 has not been reduced: at £261 million for 2012-13 it is higher than in previous years. Decisions on placements in post-16 specialist provision are made by local authorities.
	The unit cost savings announced for 16-19 funding in 2012-13 do not apply to Independent Specialist Providers (ISPs) who are funded via a different system from schools and colleges. ISP funding is based on agreed bands of funding which reflect the full placement costs for each individual attending that provision.

GCSE: Science

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effect of taking (a) separate and (b) double award science GCSE on students choosing a science-based career.

Nick Gibb: The Department has not undertaken any specific assessment of the effect of taking separate and double science GCSE on students choosing science based careers. However, pupils who take GCSE triple science are more likely to go on to study science at A level and do well.
	Research studies into the benefits of studying science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects have identified a range of factors that can influence career choices, including careers lessons and guidance, work experience, the influence of inspirational teachers, and assemblies. There is no clear evidence of the extent to which the study of STEM subjects at GCSE level influences students' choices to pursue a science based career.

GCSE: Surrey

Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children were awarded A* to C grades in (a) A-level and (b) GCSE (i) mathematics and (ii) English in (A) Woking constituency and (B) Surrey in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: The information requested can be found in the following tables:-
	
		
			 Numbers and percentages of students aged 16-18 (1, 2, 3)  achieving A*-C grades in mathematics (4)  and English (5)  A levels (6)  in Woking constituency (7) , Surrey local authority (8)  and England (9)  Years: 2007-11 Coverage: England 
			 Number and percentage of students achieving A*-C A level grades in: 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 
			 Mathematics:      
			 Woking (Number) 30 48 59 82 80 
			 Woking (Percentage) 9.1 11.5 14.6 16.4 17.3 
			       
			 Surrey (Number) 808 863 983 1,074 1,198 
			 Surrey (Percentage) 11.6 12.3 13 13.3 75.3 
			       
			 England (Number) 30,707 33,547 37,605 40,764 42,989 
			 England (Percentage) 10.9 11.4 11.9 11.9 12.8 
			       
			 English:      
			 Woking (Number) 75 80 67 95 104 
			 Woking (Percentage) 22.8 19.1 16.5 19.0 22.5 
			       
			 Surrey (Number) 1,433 1,382 1,436 1,453 1,336 
			 Surrey (Percentage) 20.5 19.8 19.0 18.0 17.1 
			       
			 England (Number) 48,315 50,805 53,509 52,686 52,520 
			 England (Percentage) 17.1 17.2 17.0 15.4 15.6 
		
	
	
		
			 (1) Percentages are based on all 16-18 year old students in each area. (2) Age at the start of the academic year, for example 31 August 2010 for the 2010/11 academic year. (3) Figures include alt maintained schools (including academies and CTCs) and Further Education (FE) sector colleges. (4) Includes pupils achieving an A*-C grade at A level in at least one of mathematics, pure mathematics, statistics, additional mathematics or further mathematics. (5) Includes pupils achieving an A*-C grade at A level in at least one of English, English language or English literature. (6) Includes cumulative results obtained in the previous academic year. (7) Parliamentary constituency figures are based on the postcode of the school or college. (8) Local Authority figures are based on the Local Authority maintaining the school or college or in the case of CTCs and Academies the local authority in which the school is situated. (9) England figures are the sum of all local authority figures. Source: National Pupil Database (2006/07 to 2009/10 final data, 2010/11 revised data) 
		
	
	
		
			 Numbers and percentages of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 (1, 2, 3)  achieving A*-C grades in mathematics and English GCSEs (4,5)  in Woking constituency (6) , Surrey local authority (7)  and England (8)  Years: 2007-11 Coverage: England 
			 Number and percentage of KS4 pupils achieving A*-C GCSE grades in: 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 
			 Mathematics:      
			 Woking (Number) 510 575 560 602 611 
			 Woking (Percentage) 60.2 64.5 66.7 69.1 72.1 
			       
			 Surrey (Number) 6,646 7,049 6,954 7,356 7,529 
			 Surrey (Percentage) 61.8 64.3 66.2 68.3 70.2 
			       
			 England (Number) 323,044 335,453 339,196 360,532 368,911 
			 England (Percentage) 54.0 56.3 58.8 62.6 65.3 
			       
			 English:      
			 Woking (Number) 555 650 604 662 642 
			 Woking (Percentage) 65.5 72.9 719 76.0 75.7 
			       
			 Surrey (Number) 7,202 7,475 7,303 7,888 7,963 
			 Surrey (Percentage) 67.0 68.2 69.5 73.3 74.2 
			       
			 England (Number) 349,086 357,983 358,136 382,870 392,117 
			 England (Percentage) 58.3 60.1 62.1 66.5 69.4 
			 (1) Percentages are based on all pupils at end of key stage 4 in each area. (2) Figures do not include pupils recently arrived from overseas. (3) Figures include all maintained schools (including CTCs and academies). (4) Full GCSEs have been included (Full GCSEs, double awards, accredited international certificates and their predecessor iGCSEs) and AS levels. Figures from 2006/07-2008/09 exclude iGCSEs. 2009/10 and 2010/11 figures include accredited iGCSEs. (5) Including attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years. (6) Parliamentary constituency figures are based on the postcode of the school. (7) Local authority figures are based on the local authority maintaining the school or in the case of CTCs and Academies the local authority in which the school is situated. (8) England figures are the sum of all local authority figures. Source: National Pupil Database (2006/07to 2009/10 final data, 2010/11 revised data)

Human Rights: Children

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how his Department is ensuring that it meets its commitments as outlined in the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child.

Jeremy Browne: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.
	The British Government are fully committed to the promotion and implementation of children's rights and to improving the situation of children worldwide. In addition to our work to engage partners on this issue through bilateral relationships and in multilateral fora, we provide financial support to programme work to protect and promote the rights of all children, as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and its optional protocols. For instance, supporting the UK's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre's International Child Protection Network in south east Asia.
	We work to ensure that international commitments on child rights are fully implemented, whether through making the UN and other international bodies more effective, or through projects to support national implementation.
	Our embassies and high commissions have a responsibility to monitor and raise human rights issues, including children's rights, in their host countries. Where possible, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff take action on individual cases and lobby for changes in discriminatory practices and laws. The FCO will continue to raise child rights with other Governments when necessary. We will also work in the UN and with other international organisations to uphold universal standards.

National Careers Service

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to his Department's further education and skills system reform plan for the National Careers Service, what mechanisms he envisages for the involvement of local authorities in providing information, advice and guidance to young people; and how he plans to monitor the effectiveness of such involvement.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 23 April 2012
	Once the new duty on schools to secure access to independent careers guidance has been commenced in September, there will be no expectation that local authorities will provide a universal careers service. Some local authorities are planning to offer careers guidance services for schools to purchase and others are supporting schools with the commissioning process or quality assuring potential providers.
	Local authorities continue to have a legal obligation, under section 68 of the Education and Skills Act 2008, to encourage, enable and assist the participation of young people in education or training. They are also expected to have arrangements in place to ensure that 16 and 17-year-olds have received an offer of a suitable place in post-16 education or training, and that they are assisted to take up a place.
	To support the fulfilment of these duties, local authorities and schools will be expected to work in partnership to identify those who are in need of targeted support, or who are at risk of not participating post-16. They will need to agree how these young people can be referred for intensive support, drawn from the range of education and training support services available locally. In some cases, this provision may include careers advice as a means of supporting young people to participate. These requirements are set out in statutory guidance that was published recently to support schools in preparing for the introduction of the new careers duty. This is available on the Department for Education website at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/youngpeople/participation/g00205755/statutory-guidance-for-schools-careers-guidance-for-young-people
	It is for local authorities to decide how they should meet their statutory responsibilities, taking into account the needs of their local communities. Government have allocated over £2 billion to the Early Intervention Grant this year which local authorities have the flexibility to spend as they see fit. The Secretary of State for Education has powers to intervene if a local authority is failing to meet its statutory duties. Any case for intervention will be based on clear, outcome-based evidence demonstrating the extent to which young people are participating in education or training, rather than specific inputs such as the way youth support services are organised.

National Careers Service

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how he plans to measure participation levels and effectiveness of schools in providing information, advice and guidance to young people under the National Careers Service.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 23 April 2012
	The Department for Education publishes an annual estimate of the proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds continuing in education, training or employment. Latest figures, which are for the end of 2010, show that 97.7% 16-year-olds and 93.2% 17-year-olds were participating in education, training or employment.
	Schools will be placed under a duty to secure access to independent and impartial careers guidance from September. Schools will be expected to work in partnership with external careers providers engaged in delivering the National Careers Service or other expert providers, as appropriate. To assist schools in making informed decisions about which providers to work with, an online register of organisations who have achieved a national quality standard for careers advice will be available.
	Education Destination Measures will show the percentage of students progressing to further education or training in a school, Further Education or sixth form college, apprenticeship or Higher Education institution. This will show how effective schools are in supporting a successful transition into an appropriate and sustainable course, including through the provision of independent careers guidance.
	Ofsted will carry out a thematic review of careers guidance, reporting in summer 2013. This will identify good practice and establish a baseline for future improvements in the quality of provision. School inspections will also provide an opportunity to consider the extent to which pupils have a thorough understanding of the options and challenges facing them as they move through school and on to the next stage of their education, training and employment.

Private Education

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many recipients of the 16 to 19 bursary schemes were enrolled at independent schools in academic year 2011-12.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 23 April 2012
	Pupils enrolled at independent schools and whose education is not state funded are not eligible for support via the 16-19 Bursary Fund.
	A small number of young people attend independent provision whose education is publicly funded and who are therefore eligible for support from the bursary fund. In these cases support is provided via the young person's home local authority. Data on bursary recipients in these circumstances are not held centrally.

Schools: Holidays

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department issues on (a) students being taken out of school for family holidays during term time and (b) staff taking holidays during term time.

Nick Gibb: The Department's Keeping Pupil Registers guidance on applying the Education Pupil Registrations Regulations states that time off school for family holidays is not a right. Schools have discretion to allow up to 10 days absence in a school year for a family holiday if they believe that the circumstances warrant it. It specifies that exceptional circumstances could include service personnel and other employees who are prevented from taking holidays outside term time but only if the holiday will have minimal disruption to the pupil's education or when a family needs to spend time together to support each other during or after a crisis. However, the guidance also states that availability of cheap holidays does not constitute exceptional circumstances and that parents can be fined for taking their child on holiday during term time without consent from the school.
	The full guidance can be found at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/pupilsupport/behaviour/attendance/b0010008/pupil-registration-regulations-and-guidance
	Charlie Taylor's review of school attendance, published on Monday 16 April, recommended that the pupil registration regulations should be amended to strengthen the rules on term time holidays, although head teachers would still have discretion to grant permission for them in exceptional circumstances. The Government have accepted this recommendation and will bring forward changes to these regulations and to the guidance.
	Decisions about staff leave in maintained schools are at the discretion of the head teacher and governing body. The Department does not provide guidance for staff taking time off during term time but it does provide a contractual framework for teachers' pay and conditions in maintained schools within the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document.

Schools: Hygiene

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether the new School Premises Regulations will require schools to provide a certain number of toilets and washbasins for all pupils.

Nick Gibb: The proposed School Premises Regulations stress that suitable toilet and washing facilities must be provided for the sole use of pupils having regard, among other factors, to their number. They do not give a specific ratio of fittings to numbers of pupils.

Schools: Sports

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools in (a) Dartford, (b) Kent and (c) the South East are participating in the School Games scheme.

Hugh Robertson: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport.
	Registration for the first year of the School Games officially closed on 31 January. At that point, 347 (50%) of schools in Kent had signed up and 1863 (47%) of schools in the south east had signed up. We are unable to disaggregate the data for Dartford.

Sixth Form Education

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many students, by subject, continued their education at sixth-form level in each year from 2004 to 2011.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 23 April 2012
	The Department's annual statistics provide information on the subjects studied by pupils aged 16-18, the most recent release is “GCE/Applied GCE A/AS and Equivalent Examination Results in England, 2010/11 (Revised)” and is available from the Department's website at:
	www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001055/index.shtml
	Tables 13 and 14 provide a time series of GCE A and AS level examination entries by subject and the percentage of pupils achieving each grade from 1995/96 to 2010/11.
	The Department also publishes annual statistics on participation in education; the most recent release is “Participation in Education, Training and Employment by 16-18 Year Olds in England” and is available from the Department's website at:
	www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001011/index.shtml
	Table 1 provides participation rates for 2009 and 2010; publications for previous years are available on the Department's Research and Statistics website.
	The Department has recently published a research report based on detailed analysis of this topic for one particular year, in the publication “Subject progression from GCSE to AS Level and continuation to A Level” available from the Department's website at:
	www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DFE-RR195
	Detailed information for other subjects or years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Ascension Island

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department holds on scientific studies to determine the status of fish stocks around Ascension Island; and if he will take steps to ensure that fishing in those waters is sustainable.

Henry Bellingham: Fisheries policy is the responsibility of Overseas Territory Governments. Ascension Island Government have been licensing fishing activity, as part of a pilot scheme, since 2010. Stocks caught by vessels licensed under the pilot scheme are already managed under the purview of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) who assess, and provide advice on, the status of those stocks on an annual basis. We are committed to working with Ascension Island Government, and through the UKOT membership of ICCAT, to continue to strengthen management arrangements to ensure that fishing in Ascension waters is carried out in an informed, sustainable way.

Ascension Island

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that licensed fishing boats in the maritime zone of Ascension Island follow regulations and avoid by-catch.

Henry Bellingham: Fisheries protection is the responsibility of Overseas Territory Governments. Ascension Island Government have been licensing fishing activity, as part of a pilot scheme, since 2010. Stocks caught by vessels licensed under the pilot scheme are already managed under the purview of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and vessels should be subject to the conservation measures agreed through ICCAT. We are committed to working with Ascension Island Government, and through the UKOT membership of ICCAT, to continue to strengthen management arrangements in Ascension waters.

Atlantic Ocean Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the flag state was of each of the vessels licensed to fish in the waters of (a) Ascension Island and (b) South Georgia in (i) each of the years from 2007 to 2011 and (ii) 2012 to date; and what fish in each case they were licensed to catch.

Henry Bellingham: Details of the licenses sold by Ascension Island Government and the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich islands are as follows:
	(a) Ascension Island
	2007: No licenses issued
	2008: No licenses issued
	2009: No licenses issued
	2010: 47 licenses have been sold. Flag states: Taiwan, Philippines, Korea, China and Japan
	2011: 58 licenses have been sold. Flag states: Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Philippines, Belize
	2012: 22 licenses have been sold to date. Flag states: Taiwan, China, Japan
	(b) South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
	2007: 19 licenses have been sold. Flag states: UKOT, Chile. Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Republic of Korea, South Africa, Spain, Uruguay
	2008: 25 licenses have been sold. Flag states: UKOT, Chile, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Republic of Korea, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Uruguay
	2009: 24 licenses have been sold. Flag states: UKOT, Chile, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Republic of Korea, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Uruguay
	2010: 18 licenses have been sold. Flag states: UKOT, Chile, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Uruguay
	2011: 18 licenses have been sold. Flag states: UKOT, Chile, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Republic of Korea, Uruguay
	2012: 12 licenses have been sold to date. Flag states: UKOT, Chile, New Zealand, Spain
	On Ascension, licenses are issued for fishing by floating long line only with the targeted species being tuna and tuna-like species, e.g. bigeye, yellowfin and albacore tuna, swordfish and marlin, which are managed under the purview of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas.
	On South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands licenses are issued for fishing of toothfish, icefish, and krill. In addition, a limited crab fishery (now closed) has operated in 2010 and 2011 with a single Russian-flagged vessel (not included in the above figures). The fisheries are operated in compliance with, and exceed, those standards set by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.

British Nationals Abroad: Mental Illness

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what resources and training his Department provides to staff working in the consular service on dealing with British citizens who experience mental health problems whilst abroad.

Jeremy Browne: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is committed to delivering high quality support to British nationals overseas particularly the most vulnerable.
	All front line overseas staff undertake mandatory training designed to give them the relevant skills and knowledge to provide appropriate consular support in a range of circumstances. Training covers customer care and welfare issues with particular attention to the key principles of the Mental Capacity Act. Both knowledge of what practical help the FCO and partners can provide and the skills staff must use when dealing with individuals in difficult circumstances are tested to ensure all staff meet the required standard.
	Consular staff have access to a social work adviser to provide support and help in addition to practical assistance from the following non-governmental organizations (NGOs) which we part fund; Heathrow Travel Care, Gatwick Travel Care, Manchester Airport Chaplaincy. The FCO regularly interacts with Mental Health NGOs including Mind, Rethink, Sane and the Befrienders international network.

Diplomatic Service

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what language training is given to British Embassy personnel before they are posted abroad.

Henry Bellingham: All UK-based staff appointed to overseas positions designated as “speaker slots” are entitled to receive full time language training in the UK and overseas before starting in post. The training is tailored to ensure these officers can carry out their work effectively in the foreign language, for example to negotiate with foreign government counterparts, or speak on overseas media channels. Staff posted overseas to roles where there is not an essential language requirement, but where the native language is not English, receive some optional training to provide basic language skills geared towards living and working in that country.

Embassies

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  how much the British embassy in Germany spent on hospitality for incoming (a) UK delegations and (b) foreign delegations in each of the last three years;
	(2)  how much the British Embassy in France spent on hospitality for incoming (a) UK delegations and (b) foreign delegations in each of the last three years;
	(3)  how much the British Embassy in Belgium spent on hospitality for incoming (a) UK delegations and (b) foreign delegations in each of the last three years;
	(4)  how much the British Embassy in the US spent on hospitality for incoming (a) UK delegations and (b) foreign delegations in each of the last three years.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office provides hospitality for business, civil society, parliamentary and Government delegations in the normal course of our diplomatic activity, to help us achieve British Government objectives. We have not provided a break-down of hospitality by nationality of guest or delegation as to do so would incur disproportionate cost.
	The following table sets out overall spend on hospitality by country in each of the last three financial years. The figures do not include spending by UK missions to international organisations in these countries. All figures except for Washington include business hospitality spend for subordinate posts. The financial year 2009-10 figure for Paris includes spend on commercially sponsored events, whose costs were reimbursed to the embassy separately.
	
		
			 £ 
			 Embassy 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Berlin 130,827.81 152,968.44 106,193.26 
			 Brussels 34,158 21,157 21,210 
			 Paris 308,080 175,648 180,080 
			 Washington 184,293 165,177 185,326

Human Rights

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who will represent the UK at the Universal Periodic Review; and if he will make a statement.

Kenneth Clarke: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Justice Department.
	My noble Friend, Lord McNally, Minister of State for Justice, will lead the UK's delegation to Geneva for its second universal periodic review on 24 May 2012.

Indian Ocean: Shipping

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to achieve full accreditation of security companies and UK flagged ships in the Indian Ocean.

Henry Bellingham: The Prime Minister announced on 30 October that armed guards would be allowed on UK-flagged ships in the high risk, area off the coast of Somalia. Privately contracted armed security personnel (PCASPs) on UK-flagged vessels currently need to comply with interim guidance published by the Department for Transport in December 2011 and carry the relevant Home Office licenses. They will be expected to be certified as meeting the relevant national or international standards when this becomes possible.
	As I announced in a written ministerial statement on 21 June 2011, Official Report, column 7WS, we have appointed ADS (Aerospace, Defence and Security) as our trade association partner in the development and implementation of UK national standards for land and maritime based private security companies (PSCs). ADS have established a sub-group, the Security in Complex Environments Group (SCEG) which is currently drafting standards for maritime PSCs and expects to submit specific proposals to Ministers shortly. The SCEG announced at their inaugural conference on 5 March that they expect to have both land and maritime national standards in place by the end of 2012.

Iraq

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received from representatives of the Assyrian community in the UK on the situation in Iraq.

Alistair Burt: Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in Iraq and London regularly meet representatives of Iraqi communities, including from the Assyrian and Christian communities. On 7 February I met with Assyrian Iraqi MP Imad Yokhanna Yaqo Alemadi, as part of a delegation from Iraq's Foreign Affairs Committee.
	The security situation for Christians has generally improved over the past 12 months, although the situation facing Iraq's ethnic and religious groups remains precarious. I raised the issue with the Iraqi Minister for Human Rights on 12 January. He assured me that Iraq took the issue very seriously and agreed that Christians were an indigenous population to Iraq and should be protected.

Israel: Palestinians

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what representations he has made to the Israeli Government on the detention of Palestinian children in Israeli prisons;
	(2)  what representations he has made to the Israeli Government on the use of solitary confinement for child prisoners.

Alistair Burt: We remain concerned about the treatment of Palestinian children under the Israeli military court system. We continue to lobby the Israeli authorities for improvements, including a reduction in the number of arrests that occur at night, an end to shackling and the introduction of audio-visual recording of interrogations.
	We welcomed Israel's decision of 4 October 2011 to raise the age of legal majority for Palestinian children in the Israeli military justice system, a step we had advocated. I raised the implementation of this decision with the Israel ambassador on 23 February.
	In addition to our lobbying of the Israeli authorities, the UK is supporting research into this issue by leading UK and international lawyers; a report is due to be issued in April. We have also funded the work of Defence for Children International and No Legal Frontiers on the rights of Palestinian child detainees.

Israel: Palestinians

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Israeli government on recent trends in the number of Palestinians detained without charge in the last year.

Alistair Burt: I have regularly raised our concerns about the use of administrative detention by Israel, including with the Israeli ambassador to London on 23 February, the Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister on 27 February and the Israeli Deputy Prime Minister on 19 March.
	We continue to encourage the Israeli authorities to comply with their obligations under international law, including in their policies on detention and the treatment of Palestinian prisoners.

Israel: Palestinians

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Israeli Government on the revocation of residence permits from Palestinians in east Jerusalem.

Alistair Burt: We have many concerns about Israeli actions in east Jerusalem, which we consider to be occupied territory. These concerns include the removal of residency rights from Palestinians; the evictions of Palestinians and demolition of Palestinian property; the construction of illegal Israeli settlements; possible unilateral changes to the municipal borders; and severe difficulties of access to Jerusalem for Palestinians from the west bank or even for those residents of Jerusalem who live beyond the separation barrier.
	Through our embassy in Tel Aviv, we have lobbied the appropriate authorities on these issues. We continue to work closely with the EU and other international partners and to call on Israel to ease restrictions on movement and access.

Legal Costs

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on fees for legal work in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has spent the following on fees for legal work:
	2010-11: £1,301,144.52
	2011-12(1): £1,292,347.78
	(1) The figure for 2011-12 is for the period up to and including February 2012
	These figures reflect the expenditure necessary to support the range of the FCO's requirements in the UK and overseas.

Middle East

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what follow-up assessment is made of the projects funded by his Department's Arab Partnership Programme.

Alistair Burt: All projects supported through the FCO-led Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF) must provide quarterly reporting on progress, risks and financial spend; and in addition a comprehensive report on impact achieved once the project has been completed. An independent assessment is also required on all completed projects over the value of £500,000. At a strategic level, the APPF is reviewed by the Department's Programme Evaluation Board. This board is held twice a year and assesses all strategic policy programmes, to give assurances to Ministers on programmes' policy delivery, impact, and value for money.
	The APPF is also currently conducting a lessons learned review from its first year in operation and recently completed a review of its political participation projects in Egypt and Tunisia. Recommendations from these assessments will be applied to the programme as it moves forward.

Middle East

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the application criteria are for funding from his Department's Arab Partnership Programme; and how those criteria are publicised.

Alistair Burt: The criteria for funding by the Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF) are available on the FCO's website:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/global-issues/mena/uk-arab-partnership
	alongside the programme strategy, bidding forms and related guidance.
	Bids to the APPF are assessed according to the following criteria: their relevance to foreign policy priorities; their relevance to an embassy's overarching programme objectives and country programme strategies; strength of rationale presented for the project intervention; delivery of value for money; evidence of local demand/need; the viability of the project, including the capacity of the implementing organisation(s); strength of project design, including clear, achievable objectives/outputs; extent of consideration of inclusivity in the project approach (including gender, youth and human rights); extent to which the project's outcomes are sustainable beyond the life of the project; whether the project meets Official Development Assistance criteria (with some funding available for non ODA countries).

Piracy

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration his Department has given to the use of lasers as a deterrent to maritime piracy.

Henry Bellingham: We have not given this any consideration.

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which of his Department's consultations have been externally verified since 2007; for what reason and by whom such verification was carried out; and what the cost to the public purse was of such verification.

David Lidington: Formal verification of compliance with the various obligations set out under the HM Government Code of Practice on Consultation is a matter that is normally handled internally, in accordance with the obligation under the code to monitor the effectiveness of consultation exercises.
	The Overseas Territories (OT) public consultation exercise was carried out on behalf of the Department by an independent survey company—this was to gauge public opinion/views on all aspects of the UK/OT relationship.
	It is normal practice for my department to publish all non-confidential responses to formal written consultation exercises, consistent with the code. Publication of consultation responses promotes transparency and provides the opportunity for external scrutiny of the consultation process independent of Government.

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department accepts anonymous contributions to its consultations.

David Lidington: Yes.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office complies with the consultation code of practice, paragraph 6.1 of which states ‘All responses (both written responses and those fed in through other channels such as discussion forums and public meetings) should be analysed carefully’.

Somalia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in other countries on piracy off the coast of Somalia.

Henry Bellingham: Piracy is an affront to the rule of international law. Britain and regional partners are committed to breaking the piracy business cycle and we speak regularly with our international partners.
	I engaged with many of my counterparts at the Somalia Conference in London on 23 February. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), also presented the conclusions of the Conference to the Foreign Affairs Council in March, and there have since been follow up discussions on counter piracy with Kenya.
	I will continue to be in contact with a number of regional counterparts. By working together we can maintain tough arrangements to catch, try and imprison pirates and to continue to develop regional maritime capacity, within Somalia and the wider region.

Somalia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the cost of piracy off the coast of Somalia to UK insurance companies.

Henry Bellingham: It has been estimated by One Earth Future that maritime piracy could be costing the global economy up to US$12 billion a year, both directly and indirectly such as through increased insurance premiums. They estimated that the two major forms of piracy related insurance, war risk and kidnap and ransom policies, cost shipping companies up to $635 million in 2011.
	Owing to the nature of the manner by which insurance premiums are calculated, however, it is not possible for these figures to be translated into an accurate representation of the cost to UK insurance companies.

Somalia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department holds on the number of UK citizens captured by pirates off the Somalia coast in each of the last five years.

Henry Bellingham: We do not have an exact figure for the number of British nationals captured by pirates off the Somalia coast in each of the last five years, as not every case may be brought to our attention. But our records do show the following number of such cases:
	
		
			  Total 
			 2007 0 
			 2008 2 
			 2009 2 
			 2010 0 
			 2011 1

South Sudan

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the operating mandate for the UN mission in South Sudan.

Henry Bellingham: The UN Mission in South Sudan has made a reasonable start, operating under an extremely broad mandate and in challenging circumstances. The mission has so far been focused on scaling up operations with a number of logistical and security constraints and is not yet fully deployed. It now needs to focus on delivery of its mandate and to prioritise activity accordingly. UK funding for UNMISS. as for all UN peacekeeping missions, comes from our assessed contribution to the UN Peacekeeping budget. We rigorously assess the budgets and mandates of all UN Peacekeeping missions on a regular basis.
	Britain has condemned recent provocative and irresponsible acts by the militaries of both South Sudan and Sudan which threaten economic stability and the livelihoods of ordinary people and will likely to further increase the pressure on the UN mission.

South Sudan

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to help restart oil production in South Sudan.

Henry Bellingham: I, and other Ministers from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development, have made representations to the South Sudanese Government, urging it to reverse its decision to cease oil production, and highlighting the impact on the South Sudanese economy. We are also urging the Governments of South Sudan and Sudan, including on arrangements for the export of oil, to negotiate their differences peacefully under the auspices of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel.

South Sudan

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness and value for money of the UN mission in South Sudan.

Henry Bellingham: The UN Mission in South Sudan has made a reasonable start, operating under an extremely broad mandate and in challenging circumstances. The mission has so far been focused on scaling up operations with a number of logistical and security constraints and is not yet fully deployed. It now needs to focus on delivery of its mandate and to prioritise activity accordingly. UK funding for UNMISS, as for all UN peacekeeping missions, comes from our assessed contribution to the UN Peacekeeping budget. We rigorously assess the budgets and mandates of all UN Peacekeeping missions on a regular basis.
	Britain has condemned recent provocative and irresponsible acts by the militaries of both South Sudan and Sudan which threaten economic stability and the livelihoods of ordinary people and will likely to further increase the pressure on the UN mission.

Sri Lanka

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 16 April 2012, Official Report, column 197W, on Sri Lanka, whether the six returnees are (a) still in custody and (b) have been convicted; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: We do not routinely monitor individual unsuccessful asylum seekers once they are removed from the UK. They are, by definition, foreign nationals who have been found as a matter of law not to need the UK's protection. Nor do we assume any responsibility for monitoring judicial proceedings against foreign nationals in their own country.

St Helena

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the promotion of independent media in St Helena; and if he will make a statement.

Henry Bellingham: Media policy is a responsibility for the St. Helena Government. I am aware of the decision, by the democratically elected representatives on St Helena, to establish a new community-owned media organisation to rationalise services and better meet the community's needs. I understand that the St Helena Government has initially funded the launch of this community-owned and operated media service but that its management and editorial control are completely independent of Government. I would encourage all Overseas Territories Governments to promote independent media where it is viable.

Treaty of Lisbon

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the President of the European Council on foreign policy implications of the Lisbon treaty.

David Lidington: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has not had any recent discussions with the President of the European Council on the foreign policy implications of the Lisbon treaty. However, he regularly discusses the EU’s role in external affairs with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Ashton, and with Foreign Ministers from other EU member states. We regularly make clear that it is right to use the collective weight of the EU and member states in support of shared foreign policy interests, such as Burma or Iran, but the European External Action Service should support and complement, not replace, member state diplomatic services.

Tristan da Cunha

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many commercial fishing licences were sold in Tristan da Cunha in (a) each of the years from 2007 to 2011 and (b) 2012 to date; what the monetary value was of such licences; what the flag state was of each of the licensed vessels; and what fish they were licensed to catch.

Henry Bellingham: Tristan da Cunha's sustainable lobster fishery is the mainstay of the island's economy. It is operated by the South African firm Ovenstone as sole concessionaires. Aside from the lobster fishing, Tristan issued one licence to a Spanish flagged vessel in 2007 and one to a South African in 2008. These licenses brought in a total of £29,000 in revenue and the fish caught were Bluenose, Alfonsino and Jacopever.
	Fisheries policy is the responsibility of Overseas Territory Governments. But we are committed to working with Tristan, and all the Overseas Territories, to ensure a clear and sustainable framework for the management of its natural resources.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to expedite the transfer of legislative power from the Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) to TCI citizens.

Henry Bellingham: In the joint written ministerial statement I issued with the Minister of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr Duncan), on 9 December 2010, Official  Report, columns 40-41WS, we set out the milestones that we judged would have to be met before elections could take place in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Our statement on 30 January 2012, Official Report¸ columns 34-36WS, gave our current assessment of progress made towards achieving the milestones. Good progress has been made, although there is still much to be done.
	A new constitution order was laid before Parliament in July 2011. New ordinances on the electoral process and the regulation of political parties are being prepared.
	A delegation from the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, led the right hon. Member for Warley (Mr Spellar) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Brigg and Goole (Andrew Percy), visited the Turks and Caicos Islands in March to engage with the Turks and Caicos Islands political parties and community representatives on the scope and content of the draft elections ordinances.
	The Turks and Caicos Islands Government have begun a programme which will enable Turks and Caicos Islanders to both verify their status and register for elections.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many residence permits have been issued by the Turks and Caicos Islands Administration in each of the last five years.

Henry Bellingham: The British Government do not have information on this matter which is a responsibility of the Turks and Caicos Islands Government. These figures have been requested and I will forward them to my hon. Friend as soon as they are received.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many work permits were issued by the Turks and Caicos Islands administration in each of the last five years.

Henry Bellingham: The British Government do not have information on this matter which is a responsibility of the Turks and Caicos Islands Government. These figures have been requested and I will forward them to my hon. Friend as soon as they are received.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what future funding from the public purse will be provided to the Turks and Caicos Islands Special Investigation Prosecution Team.

Henry Bellingham: The British Government will consider carefully any requests for further assistance.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what spending has been incurred on the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) Special Investigation and Prosecution Team by the (a) Government and (b) TCI government.

Henry Bellingham: In 2009, Sir Robin Auld's Commission of Inquiry report concluded that there was a high probability of systemic corruption in the former Turks and Caicos Islands Government.
	I am pleased to be able to inform the House that the special investigation into issues raised by this report is making good progress and 13 people have been charged with corruption, conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.
	In financial year 2010-11 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office made a discretionary grant of £6.6 million to reimburse the Turks and Caicos Islands Government for some of the exceptional costs of the criminal investigation, including the work of the Special Investigation and Prosecution Team, and related civil recovery and police work.
	In financial year 2011-12 the Turks and Caicos Islands Government report that expenditure for the Special Investigation and Prosecution team was US$7.6 million. This represents over 4% of expenditure and a significant funding challenge for the Turks and Caicos Islands Government. The Turks and Caicos Islands Government has introduced a range of new taxes and cut overall expenditure significantly in order to address its structural deficit and put it on course for a sustainable fiscal surplus in financial year 2012-13.
	In view of the exceptional situation, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend Member for Richmond (Yorks (Mr Hague), agreed to make a further grant of £3.8 million in financial year 2011-12 to reimburse the Turks and Caicos Islands Government for a proportion of the costs associated with the continuing criminal investigation and associated prosecutions. The Secretary of State also approved an additional £745,000 contribution to the cost of setting up a suitable courtroom for the trials which will be held as a result of the investigation.
	In addition to these grants, the British Government spent approximately £86,000 on costs in the UK relating to the Special Investigation and Prosecution Team in financial year 2011-12.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish a list of assets reclaimed by the Turks and Caicos Islands special investigation and prosecution team to date.

Henry Bellingham: Confiscation of the proceeds of crime can only occur post conviction. The special investigation and prosecution team carefully considers the need to restrain assets where there is evidence of a risk of dissipation. To date this has only been deemed necessary in the case of the former Premier, Michael Misick.
	It is also possible in appropriate circumstances to settle an investigation into suspected criminal conduct by agreeing a civil recovery order. This has been done with one suspect, who has paid the sum of US$1.25 million.
	There is a separate civil recovery work stream. The civil recovery team has made in excess of 40 separate recoveries of money and/or land. The monetary element is more than $12 million including payments already made, judgments obtained and still to be collected and agreements to pay. More than 900 acres of land have also so far been returned to the Crown as a result of the civil recovery team's work. The value of the land recovered so far is many tens of millions of dollars. Many other cases are underway and, by the end of the programme, the team expects to have recovered land worth hundreds of millions of dollars for the people of the TCI as well as significant further amounts of cash or other assets.

United Arab Emirates

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the next meeting of the UAE-UK Taskforce is scheduled to take place; and what items will be discussed.

Alistair Burt: We do not yet have a confirmed date or agenda for the next UK-UAE Taskforce. However, UK-UAE Taskforce meetings are held on a quarterly basis and the next one is scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi in either June or July 2012. The taskforce covers issues across the whole spectrum of the bilateral agenda including co-operation on defence; international development; education; trade and investment, and regional issues.

United Arab Emirates

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many meetings of the UAE-UK Taskforce have taken place in the last 12 months.

Alistair Burt: Three meetings of the UK-UAE Taskforce have taken place since 18 April 2011 They took place on 22 June 2011, 30 October 2011 and 21 March 2012.

Vacancies

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many job vacancies there were for (a) staff posts and (b) senior civil service posts in his Department on 31 March (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Henry Bellingham: We are unable to provide data on the number of vacancies in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) over the stated period as our internal appointments process does not collect the data in this format and therefore collating this would require a substantial amount of research which could be carried out only at disproportionate cost.
	The FCO has set a target of saving £100 million per year in administration spending, of which UK based paybill forms a significant element, by the end of the current comprehensive spending review (CSR) period. We are rigorously adhering to the Government-wide recruitment freeze with external recruitment only allowed in exceptional business-critical cases and, as a result, over the same CSR period, we expect UK based staff strength to reduce from the current level of around 4,600.

Zimbabwe

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government is taking to increase the political freedom of people in Zimbabwe.

Henry Bellingham: The British Government are committed to supporting the aspirations of the Zimbabwean people for a peaceful, prosperous and democratic Zimbabwe. We are working with reformers and international partners in support of South African Development Community efforts to create a process leading to credible and properly monitored elections. Our aid programme to Zimbabwe, which increased to £83 million this financial year, aims to help deliver better services and improved governance.
	Britain is supporting the constitutional review process and has contributed with other, donors to UN funding. This process has provided the opportunity for many Zimbabweans to have a say in Zimbabwe's overarching legal framework and will hopefully result in a new constitution which better protects their human rights. It will be for Zimbabweans to decide upon the final document in a referendum.
	We are also working with civil society organisations to support victims of violence, increase levels of access to independent information and the ability of Zimbabweans to engage in key decision making processes such as elections.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Addison Lee

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what meetings (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department have had with John Griffin of Addison Lee since 12 May 2010.

Norman Lamb: holding answer 23 April 2012
	On Ministers, I refer the hon. Member to the quarterly publication of meetings between Ministers and external organisations. Details from October 2011 onwards will be published in due course.
	According to records, no Special Adviser in this Department has met with John Griffin since 12 May 2010.
	On officials, I refer the hon. Member to the quarterly publication of meetings between the permanent secretary and external organisations. Details from October 2011 onwards will be published in due course.
	This information can be seen on the Department's website:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/transparency/staff

Companies: United Arab Emirates

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of United Arab Emirates companies that are based in the UK.

Mark Prisk: Figures published by the Office for National Statistics in “Foreign ownership of businesses in the UK, 2010” show that as at March 2010, there were around 70 enterprises in the UK which were identified as having ultimate ownership in the United Arab Emirates. Since the ultimate ownership of many businesses is not known, this figure should be taken as a minimum rather than an absolute.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme: Aviation

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what support his Department is considering providing to the aviation industry following the (a) introduction of the EU Emissions Trading System scheme and (b) inclusion of aviation in the scheme.

Mark Prisk: Following the inclusion of aviation into the EU Emissions Trading System, airlines will receive free, tradeable allowances covering a certain level of CO2 emissions from their annual flights.

Exports

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the British Chambers of Commerce survey entitled Exporting is Good for Britain: skills, what steps his Department plans to take to address the skills gap and shortage of knowledge of British exporters.

Norman Lamb: holding answer 23 April 2012
	The Government welcomes the British Chambers of Commerce's (BCC) survey “Exporting is good for Britain and exporters need skills”. The Government’s ambition is to have a world-class skills base that provides a consistent source of global competitive advantage returning the economy to sustainable growth.
	Businesses are in the best position to understand what skills, including those for exporting, are required for their sector or industry. So we are making sure that the skills system is not led by Government, but by employers and individuals themselves. As a Government, we are empowering them with the support and information they need to make confident choices and shape the system to deliver.
	Through the UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), the Government helps UK based companies gain the skills needed to succeed in the global economy through a range of programmes, under their helping your business grow internationally trade development product.
	Excellent leadership and management skills lie at the heart of outstanding business performance, so we have prioritised funding for these skills for small and medium sized enterprises who demonstrate the potential for growth. Building their capability and confidence to move and expand into the export market. Aligned with leadership and management support, business coaching for growth will provide strategic advice, coaching mentoring and access to knowledge networks to help them achieve their growth potential.

Government Departments: Procurement

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to meet the Government's target that 25 per cent of Government contracts should be awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Francis Maude: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	A year ago, the Government launched a package of measures to increase opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises to supply to Government. One year on, central Government's direct spend with SMEs is on track to more than double from £3 billion to £6 billion against a backdrop of a reduction in overall Government spending.
	However, we recognise there is still more to do to reach our aspiration that 25% of the value of Government contracts should be awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises and we recently announced a further set of steps that we are taking.
	Full details of all the measures we are putting in place, and of our progress to date, can be found on the Cabinet Office website:
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/news/government-opens-contracts-small-business
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/news/better-deal-smaller-businesses
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/making-government-business-more-accessible-smes-one-year

Higher Education

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 8 March 2012, Official Report, column 858W, on higher education, what information higher education providers are required to submit in order to meet the criteria included in a due diligence check.

David Willetts: When undertaking a due diligence review an initial review is undertaken of the publicly available information on the organisations and their directors. In most cases further information is requested from the organisations such as more detailed accounts and clarification of company structures for example. This review focuses on financial sustainability and governance arrangements.
	From 1 April 2012 we have introduced a new form to gather information from new providers whose applications have been submitted to the Department by the Student Loans Company. A copy of the form will be placed in the Library of the House.

Higher Education

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has for the introduction of private funding arrangements into the provision of higher education.

David Willetts: Higher education has always been funded from a mix of public and private sources. This will remain the case. As set out in our White Paper ‘Students at the Heart of the System’, published on 28 June 2011, we want to expand the flexibility for employers and charities to offer sponsorship for individual places outside of student number controls, provided they do not create a cost liability for Government.

Imports: Raw Materials

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to reduce the UK's import dependency in the area of non-energy, non-agricultural raw materials.

Mark Prisk: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have recently published a “Resource Security Action Plan: Making the most of valuable materials” to address rising concerns about the security of supply of key metals and minerals essential to the UK economy and the development of low carbon technologies. The plan provides a framework for business action to address these resource risks and sets out high level actions for Government and business to address resource concerns.

Legislation

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent representations he has received for inclusion in the future legislative programme in policy areas for which his Department is responsible; and which proposals his Department is considering.

Norman Lamb: The Department receives numerous representations relating to the policy areas that we are responsible for and some of these will include legislative proposals. The Government's legislative proposals will be set out in the Queen's Speech on 9 May.

Manufacturing Industries: Greater London

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many manufacturing firms are registered in (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and (b) the London borough of Bexley.

Mark Prisk: From the Interdepartmental Business Register (IDBR, December 2011), the number of manufacturing enterprises (SIC2007 section C) in:
	(a) the Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency is 145; and
	(b) the London borough of Bexley is 360.
	Counts are rounded to the nearest five enterprises and the IDBR only covers enterprises either registered for PAYE or VAT (above a £73,000 annual turnover threshold).

New Businesses: Construction

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of start-ups by women in the construction industry.

Mark Prisk: Although numbers are increasing slowly, CITB-ConstructionSkills recognise that the number of women employed in construction remains disproportionately low. CITB-ConstructionSkills is directly addressing this issue by actively promoting equality and diversity.
	CITB-ConstructionSkills were awarded the Equality Standard, by Equality North East (ENE), during 2011 as recognition of their commitment to plan and promote good equality and diversity practice in all of their work. Gaining the Equality Standard is a first for a Sector Skills Council and it is also the first time an organisation working across Scotland, Wales and England has achieved the standard.
	In order to increase the number of start-ups by women in the construction industry, it is vital that we encourage women to set up businesses and provide the support needed to ensure that those businesses thrive. On 23 January, the Prime Minister launched ‘Business in You’, a major year-long campaign to:
	Promote awareness of the wide range of advice and support available to all businesses through a variety of sources, both publicly funded and private sector;
	Encourage people to start and grow their own businesses; and
	Inspire people through the showcasing of real-life small firms who are thriving despite the current economic situation.
	The campaign highlights the package of information, advice and support that the Government have put in place for start-ups and for existing firms. This includes:
	Advice and information available at:
	www.businesslink.gov.uk
	our online information service for businesses which we have recently updated and improved. For start-ups we have a tailored section called ‘My New Business’ which includes a range of online information, training modules, and practical guides.
	A new national network of experienced business mentors at:
	www.mentorsme.co.uk
	with over 15,000 experienced business people who want to help mentor those starting out.
	Help with raising finance through continuation of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme which has helped thousands of businesses each year to access the funding they need to start and grow their businesses. And support to help businesses to help themselves when trying to access finance, through our ‘Finance Fitness’ campaign.

Official Secrets

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether any person employed by (a) his Department, (b) the agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible and (c) any private firms contracted by his Department is bound by any part of the Official Secrets Act.

Norman Lamb: People employed by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and its executive agencies are bound by the Official Secrets Act, as are those in private firms contracted by the Department and its executive agencies (as defined by sections 12(1) and 12(2) of the Official Secrets Act 1989.) The Department does not hold records on non-departmental public bodies.

Postage Stamps: Pensioners

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with Royal Mail on its concessionary scheme for pensioners to purchase stamps at Christmas.

Norman Lamb: Ministers in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) have held regular meetings with Royal Mail to discuss a broad range of issues, including the scheme to offer discounted stamps to some low income households at Christmas. The pricing of stamps, including proposals for discounts, is an operational matter for the company. However, Ministers were informed of the plans and kept updated on progress.
	Details of official meetings are published on the BIS website at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/transparency

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department accepts anonymous contributions to its consultations.

Mark Prisk: Both written responses and those responses fed in through other channels such as discussion forums and public meetings are carefully analysed in the Department, in line with the Consultation Code of Practice.

Quality Assurance Agency: Costs

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the annual running costs were of the Quality Assurance Agency in 2011-12; and what he expects such costs to be in 2012-13.

David Willetts: The Quality Assurance Agency for higher education (QAA) is an independent body funded by subscriptions from universities and colleges and through contracts with the higher education funding bodies. The Government have no direct responsibility for the QAA. Its annual accounts are, however, published at:
	http://www.qaa.ac.uk/AboutUs/corporate/Pages/Annual-Reports.aspx
	The annual budget for 2011-12 is available in the QAA board papers at:
	http://www.qaa.ac.uk/AboutUs/corporate/board/Documents/BD201127%20Annual%20Plan%20and%20budget%20cover% 20paper.pdf
	and summarised on page 30. I understand that the budget for 2012-13 is not yet available.

Research Councils: Costs

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the annual administration costs were of the (a) Arts and Humanities Research Council, (b) Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, (c) Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, (d) Economic and Social Research Council, (e) Medical Research Council, (f) Natural Environment Research Council and (g) Science and Technology Facilities Council in 2011-12; and what he expects such costs to be for each organisation in 2012-13.

David Willetts: The requested data is provided in the following table:
	
		
			 Near Cash DEL (£000) 
			  2011-12 2012-13 
			 (a) AHRC 5,848 5,686 
			 (b) BBSRC 27,236 26,479 
			 (c) EPSRC 16,354 15,899 
			 (d) ESRC 5,598 5,443 
			 (e)MRC 40,911 39,774 
			 (f) NERC 24,019 23,351 
			 (g) STFC 18,809 18,286 
			 Total 138,775 134,918

Students: Finance

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on making transparent the additional costs that undergraduates incur in undertaking their course of study in respect of (a) professional fees, (b) mandatory printing costs, (c) criminal records bureau checks and (d) mandatory field trips; and what his policy is on the meeting of such costs.

David Willetts: Increasing transparency and providing more information to students is central to our higher education reforms. We expect universities to provide useful information to their students and be transparent about additional course costs.
	The new UK Quality Code for Higher Education, developed by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) in consultation with the higher education sector, sets out an expectation that higher education institutions offer valid, reliable, useful and accessible information about their provision. The Code comes into operation from this academic year (2012/13) when the QAA review will also include a judgment on the quality of the information higher education institutions provide.
	More widely, through the publication of the Key Information Set, which will be available from September 2012, we are encouraging universities to publish information in those areas that research has shown that students find most useful. This will include the costs of tuition fees, bursaries and the costs of accommodation. Accommodation costs will cover both provision owned/sponsored by institutions and accommodation managed by private landlords and agents.
	We are also encouraging universities to produce student charters to set out what the university will provide, and what is expected of students in return. Charters link to more detailed information (e.g. handbooks) for each course. The 'suggested list of items' for charters includes "essential course costs and estimate of additional costs". It is expected that charters are jointly developed and agreed with local students' unions, to ensure that priority areas are covered.
	We are also putting in place a more progressive living costs package for first time undergraduates in 2012/13, with an increased grant for living costs worth £3,250 for all students from households with an income up to £25,000 and increased loans for living costs of up to £5,500 (or up to £7,675 for students living away from home and studying in London). In fact, most students will receive a more generous living cost package under the new regime than under the current system.
	For many of the most disadvantaged students they will have access to the new National Scholarship Programme (NSP). In the NSP, universities have a menu of options through which they can deliver a benefit of at least £3,000 (with pro-rata awards for part-time students). The NSP menu includes help with accommodation costs or other institutional services as well as a cash bursary up to £1,000. Institutions will decide which options they make available and the target group to receive them.

Students: Finance

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations he has received from the Higher Education Funding Council for England concerning the monitoring of hidden costs associated with undergraduate degree courses.

David Willetts: None. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has, however, made representations to the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education on this matter. In commenting on the draft UK Quality Code for Higher Education, HEFCE confirmed the need to encourage providers to be transparent about all course costs in providing information to prospective and new students.

Technology Strategy Board

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much the Technology Strategy Board spent on (a) collaborative research and development project grants, (b) knowledge transfer partnership awards, (c) knowledge transfer network costs, (d) catapult centre operating costs, (e) catapult centre capital costs, (f) Technology Strategy Board contributions to Small Business Research Initiative contracts, (g) SMART and other grants for research and development to (i) individual companies and (ii) small and medium-sized enterprises, (h) Technology Strategy Board administration costs and (i) other costs in each year since 2007.

David Willetts: Technology Strategy Board spend in these areas since 2007 is as follows:
	
		
			 £000 
			  2007- 08 2008- 09 
			  Total grant spend Total grant to individual companies Total grant to SMEs Total grant spend Total grant to individual companies Total grant to SMEs 
			 Collab. R&D(1) 124,630 (2)— (2)— 113,814 52,666 15,503 
			 KTPs(3) 34,636 (4)— (4)— 25,841 (4)— (4)— 
			 KTNs(5) 17,473 (4)— (4)— 19,816 (4)— (4)— 
			 Catapult centres (operating costs) 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Catapult centres (capital costs) 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 SBRI (contract) 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Smart 28,241 28,241 28,241 24,587 24,587 24,587 
			 TSB admin costs 7,870 — — 11,797 — — 
			 Other costs 55,271 — — 61,689 — — 
		
	
	
		
			  2009-10 2010-11 
			  Total grant spend Total grant to individual companies Total grant to SMEs Total grant spend Total grant to individual companies Total grant to SMEs 
			 Collab. R&D 126,766 103,635 29,409 160,964 132,693 32,309 
			 KTPs(3) 18,093 (4)— (4)— 30,456 (4)— (4)— 
			 KTNs(5) 19,304 (4)— (4)— 18,135 (4)— (4)— 
			 Catapult centres (operating costs) 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Catapult centres (capital costs) 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 SBRI (contract) 110 110 74 1,647 1,647 1,103 
			 Smart 32,302 32,302 32,302 7,621 7,621 7,621 
			 TSB admin costs 18,663 — — 32,189 — — 
			 Other costs 160,197 — — 154,167 — — 
		
	
	
		
			  2011-12 (6) 
			  Total grant spend Total grant to individual companies Total grant to SMEs 
			 Collab. R&D 156,650 128,000 28,650 
			 KTPs(3) 19,900 (4)— (4)— 
			 KTNs(5) 15,900 (4)— (4)— 
			 Catapult centres (operating costs)(7) 20,800 (4)— (4)— 
			 Catapult centres (capital costs)(7) 21,500 (4)— (4)— 
			 SBRI (contract) 4,000 4,000 2,600 
			 Smart 23,400 23,400 23,400 
			 TSB admin costs 24,300 — — 
			 Other costs 20,850 — — 
			 (1) Collaborative R and D figures for total grant to individual companies and to SMEs is not available for spend in 2007/08. Spend in this year was in respect of legacy commitments transferred from the Department for Trade and Industry and information about the type of organisations supported is not recorded. (2) Not available. (3 )The grant for Knowledge Transfer Partnerships goes to the academic partner in the project. The companies in the partnerships each contribute in the region of £20,000 per annum with most KTPs being for a three-year period. (4 )Not applicable. (5) The grant for Knowledge Transfer Networks is in respect of the operating costs of each KTN. (6 )Estimated. (7) The grant for Catapults is in respect of the development of the network of Catapult centres.

Travel

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many journeys (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department made by (i) train, (ii) coach and (iii) Government car in an official capacity in each of the last six months.

Norman Lamb: This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

UK Innovation Investment Fund

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the current status of the UK Innovation Investment Fund (UKIIF); what his Department's plans are for the future of the UKIIF; and what evaluation he has made of the effectiveness of UKIIF's previous investments including an overall return on investment thus far.

David Willetts: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has put in place an evaluation strategy to evaluate the effectiveness of the UK Innovation Investment Fund (UKIIF). A full impact evaluation will be conducted as the fund closes (typically 10-12 years once sufficient time has elapsed for benefits to be realised). However, BIS has commissioned Middlesex university to undertake an early assessment of UKIIF to provide an indication of the likely effectiveness of the fund. This will be made publicly available and published on the BIS website in early summer.
	Although the financial returns of the fund are one measure of success, the ultimate measure of the success of the fund will be the additional economic output and innovation spillovers that the fund enables.

Vacancies

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many job vacancies there were for (a) staff posts and (b) senior civil service posts in his Department on 31 March (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: The following table lists the number of job vacancies in the Department on the dates in question:
	
		
			  (a) Staff posts (b) Senior civil service posts 
			 31 March 2010 43 1 
			 31 March 2011 6 1 
			 31 March 2012 51 2

WORK AND PENSIONS

Children: Maintenance

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimates the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission has made the proportion of non-resident parents within the statutory child maintenance system who are likely to experience changes in their earnings in the course of a year of (a) 25 per cent or more, (b) 15 per cent or more and (c) 10 per cent or more.

Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to my hon. Friend with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	Letter from Noel Shanahan
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
	.
	The estimates as follows are based on analysis of a representative sample of around 2,500 CSA non-resident parents with full HMRC PAYE tax returns in the years 2007/8 and 2008/9.
	The percentages shown are the changes between the two tax years in full year earnings. As some income changes will actually occur within a financial year rather than between two financial years, these figures should be treated with a degree of caution.
	The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Non-resident parents annual income changes 10% 15% 25% 
			 Annual income changes greater than or equal to each percentage 36% 22% 10%

Children: Maintenance

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the National Audit Office report, Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission: Costs Reduction, HC 1793, what steps his Department has taken to require the Commission to improve the planning tool used to develop its forecasts for the future statutory scheme.

Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	Letter from Noel Shanahan
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the National Audit Office report, Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission: Costs Reduction, HC 1793, what steps his Department has taken to require the Commission to improve the planning tool used to develop its forecasts for the future statutory scheme.
	In December 2011 the Commission engaged expert industry consultants CapGemini to review its existing high level financial model, which was the focus of the NAO's review, and to deliver new modelling tools based on their extensive experience and using in-depth Commission operational and planning knowledge.
	In addition to the replacement for the Commission's high level planning tool, CapGemini has developed a significantly more detailed short term planning tool to support the new high level business planning model and conduct an extensive. review of all financial and operational modelling undertaken by the Commission in support of its business case.
	Key work to build and deliver the new modelling tools was completed at the end of March 2012 and they are currently being used in parallel with existing tools to assure their operational use. The recommendations from the CapGemini review have been taken onboard by the Commission and are currently being implemented.

Children: Maintenance

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in what circumstances the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission can decide to re-visit a suspended case having taken a decision to suspend the collection of child maintenance arrears.

Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	Letter from Noel Shanahan
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in what circumstances the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission can decide to re-visit a suspended case having taken a decision to suspend the collection of child maintenance arrears.
	Where the Child Support Agency (CSA) has made a child maintenance calculation and is therefore responsible for the collection and enforcement of any child maintenance arrears which may occur, it can exercise discretion in relation to the collection of some or all of the arrears which may have accrued in any case.
	If the non-resident parent's circumstances make it inappropriate to pursue recovery of the arrears at a particular time, for example due to hospitalisation for serious ill health or pending an appeal tribunal, then the CSA may consider temporarily suspending collection activity until a later date. However, the parent with care's circumstances will be fully considered along with the welfare of any child affected by the decision before suspension of the arrears will take place.
	The length of time that the collection of the arrears may be suspended for is discretionary and is dependant upon the reasons for the suspension and the individual circumstances of the case. In certain situations, such as where the non-resident parent is in residential care or parentage is disputed, there is a set timescale for review of either six or twelve months. In other situations, for example where the decision is taken to suspend collection as a result of the parent with care and non-resident parent reconciling, the timescale for review will be discretionary.
	Once the review date is reached, consideration will be given to the case circumstances and whether it is appropriate to reinstate collection activity.
	In some circumstances it may be appropriate to permanently suspend collection activity. Examples of these occasions may be for instance where the non-resident parent has died and there is no estate from which to recover the arrears, or where the parent with care does not wish arrears owed to them to be collected.
	As the CSA does not currently have the power to write off debt in cases such as those described above, the CSA will permanently suspend collection of the debt and will not set a date to review the position. However should the position change, for instance if the parent with care changes their mind and wishes the debt to be recovered, consideration will be given to whether it is appropriate to reinstate collection of the arrears.

Children: Maintenance

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the contribution by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State of 14 February 2012, [Lords] Official Report, column 777, what estimate he has made of the proportion of parents with care each year who will (a) request to switch to the future statutory collection service because a maintenance direct arrangement has failed and (b) request to switch from use of the statutory collection service to a maintenance direct arrangement due to improved payment behaviour by the non-resident parent and the incentive effect of continuing collection charges.

Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	Letter from Noel Shanahan
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the contribution by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State of 14 February 2012, [Lords] Official Report, column 777, what estimate he has made of the proportion of parents with care each year who will (a) request to switch to the future statutory collection service because a maintenance direct arrangement has failed and (b) request to switch from use of the statutory collection service to a maintenance direct arrangement due to improved payment behaviour by the non-resident parent and the incentive effect of continuing collection charges.
	The Commission's estimates around the use of maintenance direct are based on the long term stable percentage of the caseload using maintenance direct. No explicit estimates of the annual flow to and from maintenance direct have been made to date.
	Client insight surveys indicated that around 87% of non-resident parents would initially choose maintenance direct when given the choice following application to the statutory scheme. However there is uncertainty around the long term stable rate of maintenance direct because the introduction of non-resident parent maintenance direct choice and collection charges significantly alter the proposition. Current Child Support Agency maintenance direct sustainability rates cannot therefore be used as a guide to how many parents with care will switch back to the collection service.
	We are in the process of refining assumptions in this area and the revised estimates will be published alongside the impact assessment covering charging and case closure later this year.

Children: Maintenance

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to paragraph 3.10 of the National Audit Office report, Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission: Cost Reduction, what methodology was used to determine the workload reduction of £12 million; and what assumptions were made about the reduction in his Department's caseload.

Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the child maintenance commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	Letter from Noel Shanahan
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 3.10 of the National Audit Office report, Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission: Cost Reduction, what methodology was used to determine the workload reduction of £12 million; and what assumptions were made about the reduction in his Department's caseload.
	The child maintenance reform programme will have a significant impact on the volume of cases administered by the statutory service in future. The introduction of better co-ordinated support services for separated and separating families and charging for the statutory service is expected to reduce the flow of cases into the statutory service as it will incentivise and support parents who are able to make maintenance arrangements without formal state intervention to do so.
	The statutory service exists for those parents who are not able to agree a family-based maintenance arrangement. The total caseload is made up of nil assessed cases (those which are assessed as having no maintenance to pay) and positively assessed (a maintenance liability is determined which the non-resident parent has to pay. Non-resident parents are still able to pay directly should they so choose through 'maintenance direct'.
	The introduction of an automatic annual review is projected to significantly reduce the numbers of cases which are nil-assessed while the positively assessed caseload is projected to remain broadly consistent with current levels although with far greater numbers of non-resident parents paying the parent with care directly.
	The £12m figure was derived by making projections about the changes in volume between the baseline year (2010/11) and the target year (in this case 2014/15) and multiplying this by the current unit cost. This was performed for three areas:
	Firstly, applications—which are projected to fall.
	Secondly, nil assessed cases—which are projected to fall. These are significantly less costly to administer than positively assessed cases or applications as they demand much less activity due to having no maintenance to pay.
	Finally, positively assessed cases—which are projected to remain roughly at current levels. These are the majority of the Commission's case volume and are the most resource intensive of all case types including all of the payment, collection and enforcement activity the Commission undertakes.
	We are in the process of refining assumptions in this area and the revised estimates will be published alongside the impact assessment covering charging and case closure later this year.

Children: Maintenance

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to paragraph 3.7 of the National Audit Office report, Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission: Cost Reduction, what proportion of the caseload of the future statutory child maintenance system his Department anticipates having maintenance direct arrangements.

Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the child maintenance commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	Letter from Noel Shanahan
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 3.7 of the National Audit Office report, Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission: Cost Reduction, what proportion of the caseload of the future statutory child maintenance system his Department anticipates having maintenance direct arrangements.
	The National Audit Office report was based on Commission financial projections. At the time of writing their report, the Commission estimated that the impact of charging and wider reforms would mean that between 22% and 44% of positively assessed statutory cases would be paid directly between the non-resident parent and the parent with care over the longer term.
	We are in the process of refining assumptions in this area and the revised estimates will be published alongside the impact assessment covering charging and case closure later this year.

Council Tax Benefits: Scotland

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the anticipated numbers of applicants for council tax benefit residing in Scotland for financial years (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15.

Chris Grayling: Information on the total number of applicants for council tax benefit in Scotland is not available.
	The following table gives the estimated average annual number of Scottish households in receipt of council tax benefit between 2011-12 and 2014-15.
	
		
			 Annual average council tax benefit case load 
			 Scotland T housand 
			 2011-12 567 
			 2012-13 563 
			 2013-14 546 
			 2014-15 530 
		
	
	The current volume of Scottish households in receipt of council tax benefit is published in table 1 here
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/hb_ctb/hbctb_release_apr12.xls

Council Tax Benefits: Scotland

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people residing in Scotland were in receipt of council tax benefit during financial year 2011-12; and what the average award was for such people.

Chris Grayling: The latest available data are at January 2012. HB/CTB caseload statistics are published approximately three months after the reference date. The available information is provided in the following table:
	
		
			 Council tax benefit recipients and average weekly award in Scotland: April 2011 to January 2012 
			  Number in receipt of council tax benefit Average weekly award 
			 2011   
			 April 561,360 12.97 
			 May 564,320 12.96 
			 June 564,480 12.94 
			 July 560,470 12.92 
			 August 562,210 12.92 
			 September 565,730 12.92 
			 October 559,130 12.90 
			 November 557,740 12.89 
			 December 558,090 12.88 
			    
			 2012   
			 January 561,490 12.88 
			 Notes: 1. The figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Recipients are as at second Thursday of the month. 3. Average awards are shown as pounds per week and rounded to the nearest penny. Source: Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE)

Employment and Support Allowance

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many employment and support allowance claimants resident in (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and (b) the London borough of Bexley were placed in the (i) Work Related Activity Group and (ii) Support Group in the latest period for which figures are available.

Chris Grayling: In the Bexley local authority area 2,600 people have undergone an initial work capability assessment (WCA) as part of a new claim for employment and support allowance (ESA) between October 2008 and the end of August 2011, the latest data available. Of these 1070 were entitled to ESA; 740 were placed in the Work Related Activity Group and 340 were placed in the Support Group. The remaining 1,530 were Fit for Work.
	Constituency level data is not available.
	Notes:
	1. The information above is taken from administrative data held by the Department for Work and Pensions and assessment data provided by Atos Healthcare.
	2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	3. The figures above only cover new claims to ESA and exclude incapacity benefit reassessments to determine eligibility for ESA. On 20 April 2012 the Department published data on the outcomes of IB reassessment claims at the regional and local authority level at the following link:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=adhoc_analysis

Employment Schemes: Young People

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many businesses in Motherwell and Wishaw constituency have become a part of the Youth Contract programme; and how many people in Motherwell have found employment or training through the programme.

Chris Grayling: The specific information requested is not available.
	Employers engage with us in a variety of ways and we are maximising every contact to promote the Youth Contract to ensure that we can provide close to half a million new opportunities for young people.

Retirement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff of his Department retired in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; how many of such staff were taking early retirement in each such year; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: The following table lists all retirements and early retirements within each of the two financial years from 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2012:
	
		
			  Total retirements 
			  2010-11 2011-12 
			 Retirements total 1,383 1,448 
			 Early retirements (included in total) 41 n/a

Social Security Benefits

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will publish details of any discussions and meetings (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have had with PayPoint regarding the nature of advertising placed at the bottom of receipts to be given to benefit claimants cashing their green giros when using the system.

Chris Grayling: Green giros (cheques) are not cashed at PayPoint outlets. These are due to be phased out and replaced by the Simple Payment service later this year.
	Informal meetings have taken place with PayPoint on the principle of using the Simple Payment receipt for advertising, but no discussion has been held regarding the specific nature of the content.
	For the avoidance of doubt, the contractual arrangements in place for the Simple Payment service ensure that DWP has the final say on what can or cannot be printed on receipts given to benefit claimants at PayPoint outlets.

State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will have discussions with his international counterparts on achieving the uprating of frozen British state pensions for those living overseas through domestic legislation in each of the countries concerned.

Steve Webb: The Government have no plans to enter into discussions on annual pension increases for countries where those increases are not currently payable. There are no plans to change the current arrangements for pensions paid overseas.

Work Capability Assessment: Wales

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Wales who failed a work capability assessment in the last 12 months subsequently had the decision overturned on appeal.

Chris Grayling: Data on appeals for the last 12 months is not yet available.
	In Wales there are 14,850 people who made a claim for employment and support allowance in the period between the start of October 2008 the end of November 2010 (latest data available) who have had an appeal heard against their Fit for Work decision following a work capability assessment. In 5,400 cases the original decision was overturned and in 9,450 cases DWP's decision was upheld by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service.
	Notes:
	1. Appeals against incapacity benefits reassessment claims are not included in these figures.
	2. Numbers above have been rounded to the nearest 10.